To invest or not to invest in sanitation: The role of intra-household gender differences in perceptions and bargaining power

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Augsburg, Britta; Malde, Bansi; Olorenshaw, Harriet; Wahhaj, Zaki
• 署名单位: University of Kent
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103074
• 发表日期: 2023
• 关键词: sanitation; perceptions; Intra-household bargaining; microfinance; GENDER

摘要

We exploit novel data collected within a randomized controlled trial of a sanitation microcredit intervention to study how intra-household gender differences in perceptions of costs and benefits of sanitation impact investment decisions. We show that - as long as the wife is involved in household decision-making - the intra-household differences in perceptions we document influence borrowing and investments: uptake of the sanitation loan is higher among households where the wife has higher benefit perception, whereas successful conversion to a toilet depends on differences in monetary cost perceptions. The estimated effects are consistent with the predictions of a model of intra-household decision-making.