Culture, Intra-household Distribution and Individual Poverty

Traditional family norms often have persistent effects on household decisiond. We question wether kinship ancestries of post-marital residence still affect household consumption sharing. We estimate a model of ressource allocation using expenditure surveys for Ghana and Malawi, two countries in wich patrilocal and matrilocal traditions coexist. Ancestral patrilocality coincide with a10% lower ressource share for women, contributating to higher prevalence of poverty among women. Womens ressource shares increase with age, a pattern mor pronounced for matrilocal groups. These results indicate how a combination of cultural and demographic factors may be use to improve policies targeted at poor individuals.