Nonparametric analysis of household labor supply: goodness of fit and power of the unitary and the collective model

We compare the empirical performance of unitary and collective labor supply models, using representative data from the Dutch DNB Household Survey. We conduct a nonparametric analysis that avoids the distortive impact of an erroneously specified functional form for the preferences and/or the intrahou...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inThe review of economics and statistics Vol. 90; no. 2; pp. 267 - 274
Main Authors Cherchye, L, Vermeulen, F
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cambridge MIT Press 01.05.2008
The MIT Press
MIT Press Journals, The
Subjects
Behavior modeling
Datasets
Dual career couples
econometric models
Economic models
Efficiency metrics
Households
human behavior
labor force
Labor supply
mathematical models
Men
Modeling
Parameter optimization
Power efficiency
Single status
Studies
surveys
Netherlands
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Summary:We compare the empirical performance of unitary and collective labor supply models, using representative data from the Dutch DNB Household Survey. We conduct a nonparametric analysis that avoids the distortive impact of an erroneously specified functional form for the preferences and/or the intrahousehold bargaining process. Our analysis focuses on the goodness of fit of the two behavioral models. To guarantee a fair comparison, we complement this goodness-of-fit analysis with a power analysis. Our results strongly favor the collective approach to modeling the behavior of multiperson households.
Bibliography:May, 2008
ISSN:0034-6535
1530-9142
DOI:10.1162/rest.90.2.267