Scandinavian Working Papers in Economics

Working Papers in Economics,
University of Gothenburg, Department of Economics

No 356: Household decision making and the influence of spouses’ income, education, and communist party membership: A field experiment in rural China

Fredrik Carlsson (), Peter Martinsson (), Ping Qin () and Matthias Sutter ()
Additional contact information
Fredrik Carlsson: Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University, Postal: Box 640, SE 40530 GÖTEBORG
Peter Martinsson: Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University, Postal: Box 640, SE 40530 GÖTEBORG
Ping Qin: Department of Economics, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University, Postal: Box 640, SE 40530 GÖTEBORG
Matthias Sutter: Department of Public Finance, University of Innsbruck, Postal: Universitaetsstrasse, 15, A-6020 Innsbruck, Austria

Abstract: We study household decision making in a high-stakes experiment with a random sample of households in rural China. Spouses have to choose between risky lotteries, first separately and then jointly. We find that spouses’ individual risk preferences are more similar the richer the household and the higher the wife’s relative income contribution. A couple’s joint decision is typically determined by the husband, but women who contribute relatively more to the household income, women in high-income households, women with more education than their husbands, and women with communist party membership have a stronger influence on the joint decision.

Keywords: Household decision making; Risk; Field experiment; China

JEL-codes: C91; C92; C93; D10

33 pages, April 20, 2009

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Published as
Fredrik Carlsson, Peter Martinsson, Ping Qin and Matthias Sutter, (2012), 'Household decision making and the influence of spouses’ income, education, and communist party membership: A field experiment in rural China', Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, vol 84, pages 525-536

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