Detecting Mother-Father Differences in Spending on Children: A New Approach Using Willingness-to-Pay Elicitation

Abstract

This paper tests whether mothers and fathers differ in their spending on daughters relative to sons by comparing their willingness to pay (WTP) for specific goods for their children. This method, which we apply in Uganda, offers more precision than the standard method of examining expenditure effects of mothers’ versus fathers’ income. We find that fathers have a lower WTP for their daughters’ than their sons’ human capital but mothers do not. Altruism plays a role: fathers’ but not mothers’ WTP for goods that simply bring joy to their daughters is lower than their WTP for such goods for sons. (JEL D64, G51, J12, J13, J16, O12)