This paper uses a recent, nationally representative household survey for the Republic of Congo—the 2005 ECOM (Enquête Congolaise auprès des Ménages) survey—to test the unitary model of household consumption. The study finds that a higher labor income share obtained by women does lead to a...

Household savings rates in the United States have recently crept up from all-time lows. Some have suggested that a shift toward frugality will hamper GDP growth-the Keynesian "paradox of thrift." We estimate that households compensate for a fall in their asset income by saving more out of their...