Child-Adult Expenditure Allocation by Ethnicity

Resource distribution within households is an important issue for family economists, policy makers, agents of the courts, and others interested in individual and family welfare. This research examines the monetary distribution in U.S. households who have children and are of four different ethnic groups. Intrahousehold expenditure allocations between children and adults are estimated, using 1994 and 1995 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey data and a method developed by Lazear and Michael. The results indicate that the overall average expenditure per child is less than that per adult in households with children. The sample households' estimated allocations vary considerably, however. Further analysis according to household ethnicity and other characteristics helps explain the variation and leads to the conclusion that the four ethnic groups examined differ in their child‐adult expenditure allocations, which may be due to the groups' differences in characteristics other than ethnicity.