Alimony rights and intrahousehold allocation of resources: Evidence from Brazil

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Rangel, Marcos A.
• 署名单位: University of Chicago
• 刊物名称: ECONOMIC JOURNAL
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0013-0133
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1468-0297.2006.01104.x
• 发表日期: 2006
• 页码: 627-658
• 关键词: birth-order; sex composition; FAMILY; cohabitation; marriage; divorce; stepfamilies; daughters; education; parents

摘要

Can family policy affect well-being of individuals without altering the resources available to their families? This article examines the extension of alimony rights and obligations to cohabiting couples in Brazil. For women in intact relationships, alimony rights upon dissolution should improve outside options, strengthening their negotiating positions, and increasing their influence over intrahousehold allocation of resources. Robust econometric evidence indicates that more decision power in the hands of women impacts hours worked by female adults and investments in the education of children. This suggests that family policy and models of family decision making should take intrahousehold heterogeneity of preferences into account.