Altruism in the Household

This article reports results from a pilot experiment that evaluates the role of procedural altruism in the household. An allocation game is used to study the choice between joint consumption and private consumption among married spouses. Subjects' consumption decisions over joint and private goods are observed under two treatments - effort and no-effort. Overall, results suggest that the procedure in which the economic resources are earned seem to influence altruistic choices of males more than females.