relation: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/8976/
title: Taking it in turn: an experimental test of theories of the household
creator: Munro, Alistair
creator: McNally, Tara
creator: Popov, Danail
subject: C78 - Bargaining Theory ; Matching Theory
subject: C92 - Laboratory, Group Behavior
subject: J12 - Marriage ; Marital Dissolution ; Family Structure ; Domestic Abuse
subject: C93 - Field Experiments
subject: D1 - Household Behavior and Family Economics
description: Using a sample of established couples, we conduct an experiment on household decision-making. Individual partners first make a series of dichotomous choices between household goods and vouchers for experiences and then the couple jointly face the same choices. A random lottery device is used to incentivize the decisions. We find clear evidence of turn-taking as a method of resolving disagreements. In other words, when one partner wins one disputed question, it raises the probability that the other partner wins the next dispute. Given the arbitrary order of the questions this suggests that standard decision-theoretic models of household behaviour are inadequate and that instead, much behaviour might be concerned with relationship maintenance rather than the allocation of goods.
date: 2008-05-15
type: MPRA Paper
type: NonPeerReviewed
format: application/pdf
language: en
identifier: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/8976/1/MPRA_paper_8976.pdf
identifier:   Munro, Alistair and McNally, Tara and Popov, Danail  (2008): Taking it in turn: an experimental test of theories of the household.    
language: en