Fairness concepts and the intrahousehold allocation of resources

How do parents allocate scarce resources among their children? While much research has focused on investment strategies, parents' preferences for equity may also play a role in the household allocation of resources. While the studies that incorporate equity define it in limited terms, in this paper, several fairness concepts are applied to the problem of intrahousehold distribution. Comparing food allocations and health outcomes across fairness concepts indicates that each concept results in a different allocation of food and a different health outcome. The implications of this result for empirical studies of intrahousehold distribution and policy interventions are discussed. Keywords: Fairness; Intrahousehold; Equity; Distribution; Health JEL classification: D1