Are Household Production Decisions Cooperative? Evidence on Pastoral Migration and Milk Sales from Northern Kenya

Doss, Cheryl R.; McPeak, John G.

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Are Household Production Decisions Cooperative? Evidence on Pastoral Migration and Milk Sales from Northern Kenya

43 Pages Posted: 17 Feb 2005

See all articles by Cheryl R. Doss

Cheryl R. Doss

University of Oxford - Department of International Development

John G. McPeak

Syracuse University - Department of Economics

Date Written: January 2005

Abstract

Market-based development efforts frequently create opportunities to generate income from goods previously produced and consumed within the household. Production within the household is often characterized by a gender and age division of labor. Market development efforts to improve well being may lead to unanticipated outcomes if household production decisions are non-cooperative. We develop and test models of household decision-making to investigate intra-household decision making in a nomadic pastoral setting from Kenya. Our results suggest that household decisions are contested, with husbands using migration decisions to resist wives' ability to market milk.

Keywords: Intrahousehold decision-making, household production, Kenya

JEL Classification: D13, O12

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Doss, Cheryl R. and McPeak, John G., Are Household Production Decisions Cooperative? Evidence on Pastoral Migration and Milk Sales from Northern Kenya (January 2005). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=668401