Testing for boy-girl discrimination with household expenditure data: results for Papua New Guinea

Abstract

Discrimination in the allocation of goods between boys and girls is tested for, using expenditure data from households in Papua New Guinea. Deaton's (1989) method of identifying demographic effects on adult goods expenditure is used to indicate gender bias. Valid adult goods are found to be adult clothing, alcohol, gambling, meals eaten away from home, and tobacco. Adding a young boy to a household reduces expenditure on adult goods by as much as would a one-third reduction in total outlay per member, but young girls have no effect on adult goods expenditure. The difference in these point estimates is estimated imprecisely, and falls just outside conventional levels of statistical significance.