Nonparametric Analysis of Household Labor Supply: Goodness-of-Fit and Power of the Unitary and the Collective Model

CentER Discussion Paper No. 2006-13

18 Pages Posted: 17 Apr 2006

See all articles by L. Cherchye

L. Cherchye

KU Leuven; Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM)

Frederic Vermeulen

Tilburg University - CentER; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Date Written: February 2006

Abstract

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 multi-person households.

Keywords: labor supply, collective model, unitary model, nonparametric analysis, revealed preferences

JEL Classification: C14, D12, J22

Suggested Citation

Cherchye, Laurens and Vermeulen, Frederic, Nonparametric Analysis of Household Labor Supply: Goodness-of-Fit and Power of the Unitary and the Collective Model (February 2006). CentER Discussion Paper No. 2006-13, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=895455 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.895455

Laurens Cherchye (Contact Author)

KU Leuven ( email )

Oude Markt 13
Leuven, Vlaams-Brabant
Belgium

Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM)

P.O. Box 1738
3000 DR Rotterdam
Netherlands

Frederic Vermeulen

Tilburg University - CentER ( email )

P.O. Box 90153
5000 LE Tilburg
Netherlands
+31 13 466 3196 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://center.uvt.nl/staff/vermeulen/

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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