Manoeuvring in Uncertainty : On Agency, Strategies and Negotiations
Sub-Saharan Africa has seen wide-ranging economic and political change alongside civil and international wars. This volume focuses on the radical social uncertainties there, and how social actors perceive and cope with them in their everyday lives. It also suggests some ways to conceptualize both the actions and the environment of uncertainty.
Towards a conceptual framework of household coping: reflections from rural West Africa
The study and application of household coping have largely been confined to the problems of famine and food insecurity. Based on field insights from West Africa, this paper argues that understanding how households cope and allocate resources in times of crisis is of immense value to a broad array of development interventions. It also introduces a conceptual framework that evaluates household coping in exogenous and endogenous contexts. The application of this framework may provide a more informed approach to development intervention design, implementation and targeting that is sensitive to the differential needs and experiences of rural households and communities. Résumé L'etude et l'application des comportements des ménages face aux difficultés ont été largement confinées aux problemes de famine et de précarité alimentaire. S'appuyant sur l'observation de situations en Afrique occidentale, cet article suggère qu'une meilleure connaissance de la manière dont les ménages font face aux difficultés et affectent leurs ressources en temps de crise est extrêmement utile pour un large éventail d'interventions en faveur du développement. II présente aussi un cadre conceptuel d'évaluation des comportements des ménages face aux difficultés dans des contextes exogènes et endogènes. L'application de ce cadre peut fournir une approche mieux informée en matière de conception, de mise en oeuvre et de ciblage des interventions en faveur du développement, et plus sensible aux différents besoins et expériences des communautés et des ménages ruraux.
The Distribution of Income and Expenditure within the Household
Most economic models of the household assume that it may be treated as if all members share the same preferences or one member (a dictator) makes all resource allocation decisions. That assumption is tested by asking whether income in the hands of men has the same impact on household commodity demand as income in the hands of women. Drawing on budget data from Brazil, we find that the distribution of income among men and women within the household does affect demand patterns and this is true for both non-labor income as well as total income. Income in the hands of women, relative to men, is associated with a larger increase in the share of the household budget devoted to human capital (household services, health and education) and also leisure (recreation and ceremonies) goods. The proportion of the budget spent on food declines more if the income is in the hands of women although food composition also changes and nutrient intakes rise faster as women's income increases. When the sample is restricted to only those couples in which both have some income, however, there is little evidence that income in the hands of men and women have significantly different effects on commodity consumption.