We exploit novel data collected within a randomized controlled trial of a sanitation microcredit intervention to study how intra-household gender differences in perceptions of costs and benefits of sanitation impact investment decisions. We show that — as long as the wife is involved in household decision-making — the intra-household differences in perceptions we document influence borrowing and investments: uptake of the sanitation loan is higher among households where the wife has higher benefit perception, whereas successful conversion to a toilet depends on differences in monetary cost perceptions. The estimated effects are consistent with the predictions of a model of intra-household decision-making.
Authors
![Britta Augsburg](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2022-06/Britta_Augsburg.jpg?itok=xID4yUz7)
Associate Director
Britta is an IFS Associate Director, Associate Staff at the Department of Economics at the UC and Researcher at NIHR Obesity Policy Research Unit.
![Bansi Malde](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2023-11/Bansi%20Malde.jpg?itok=WUW9ECXS)
Research Fellow University of Kent
Bansi is a Research Fellow of the IFS, a Senior Lecturer of Economics at the University of Kent and also a Fellow at the Global Labor Organisation.
![Harriet Olorenshaw](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2022-06/Harriet_Olorenshaw.jpg?itok=T4aeWWDs)
Harriet Olorenshaw
![Person graphic](/sites/default/files/styles/square_desktop/public/2022-06/IFS-person-graphic.png?itok=hWCtTSrz)
Zaki Wahhaj
Working Paper details
- DOI
- 10.1920/wp.ifs.2023.0423
- Publisher
- Institute for Fiscal Studies
Suggested citation
Augsburg, B et al. (2023). To invest or not to invest in sanitation: the role of intra-household gender differences in perceptions and bargaining power. 23/04. London: Institute for Fiscal Studies. Available at: https://ifs.org.uk/publications/invest-or-not-invest-sanitation-role-intra-household-gender-differences-perceptions-0 (accessed: 30 June 2024).
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