Resumen de Testing unitary and bargaining models of Chinese household food consumption

Jason Dietrich

• This study examines income and food consumption patterns within Chinese households to test the assumptions and predictions of two competing models of consumer demand, the Neo-Classical unitary model and a class of bargaining models. Four standard tests of the Neo-Classical model are conducted, as well as two tests of bargaining models recently developed by Chiappori and Browning (1998). Similar to many other studies, each of the assumptions and predictions of the Neo-Classical unitary model is rejected by the data. Alternatively, there is evidence that the bargaining models more accurately describe households' decision-making processes. The data suggest that multiple individuals within the household influence decisions, instead of households acting as one decision-making unit.