Households, Information Diffusion, and Gender

Understanding decision-making dynamics within couples

Project Introduction

This research employs an in-field lab experiment to study information sharing and aggregation within households. Data collection was carried out in Kolkata, West Bengal, with a carefully selected sample of hundreds of married couples, examining how information is pooled within households and identifying patterns of asymmetric learning between men and women in joint decision-making.

Partners

Researchers

Project Methodology

Participants were recruited through snowball sampling, restricted to men and women aged 18–60 from households with a monthly income between Rs. 25,000–30,000. Alongside the lab experiment, structured surveys captured demographic profiles, household decision-making power, and individual preferences, with data collection facilitated through SurveyCTO on Android tablets to ensure accuracy and efficiency. This design allowed researchers to measure how information is pooled within households and to identify patterns of asymmetric learning between spouses.

Impact

The project sheds light on how gender and social norms affect the flow of information in household decision-making. By studying the interplay of private choices and joint discussions, the research identifies barriers to equitable decision-making and explores the role of interventions in improving information pooling between spouses. These insights contribute to the broader literature on gender, households, and information diffusion, with potential implications for designing policies that strengthen intra-household equity and resource allocation.

Documentation

This project is currently in progress, and will be updated with findings as results arise.

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