Global Evidence on Gender Gaps and Child Poverty in Consumption

Since intra-household resource distribution is unobserved, it is difficult to compare how women and children fare across countries. To address this, we analyze 45 household expenditure surveys from predominantly low- and middle-income countries, i.e. an international sample of around 2.4 million individuals. Using harmonized estimations of intra-household resource sharing, we construct globally comparable measures of gender inequality and child poverty in consumption. Our findings reveal a widespread imbalance: women receive about one-fifth less than men, leading to a 60% higher poverty rate. Children appear to fare even worse, though this is partly explained by differences in needs and sibling economies of scale. Intra-household inequalities are more pronounced in poorer countries and among low-income households within countries. Cross-checks with nutritional proxies tend to validate our results, linking household poverty and intra-household disparities to child undernutrition. Finally, we decompose global individual consumption inequality and find that 13%-32% (across measures) stems from inequality within households.