Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/36259 
Year of Publication: 
2009
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 4327
Publisher: 
Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
How large are the economies of scale of living together? And how do partners share their resources? The first question is usually answered by equivalence scales. Traditional estimation and application of equivalence scales assumes equal sharing of income within the household. This paper uses data on financial satisfaction to simultaneously estimate the sharing rule and the economy of scale parameter in a collective household model. The estimates indicate substantial scale economies of living together, especially for couples who have lived together for some time. On average, wives receive almost 50% of household resources, but there is heterogeneity with respect to the wives' contribution to household income and the duration of the relationship.
Subjects: 
Collective household models
sharing rule
equivalence scale
subjective data
JEL: 
D12
C21
D19
Persistent Identifier of the first edition: 
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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