It's complicated: A Non-parametric Test of Preference Stability between Singles and Couples

Abstract

This paper develops a method to use singles' data in a non-parametric revealed preference setting of collective household choice. We use it to test the controversial assumption of preference stability between singles and couples, without data on intra-household allocation or marital transitions. We show that, under the preference-stability hypothesis, consumption choices from an endogenously matched population admit a conditional random-utility representation over counterfactual pairings of couples and singles. Preference stability is testable as a feasibility restriction on the observed marginal choice distributions. We reject the hypothesis using consumption data from the Dutch LISS, the Russian RLMS, and the Spanish ECPF panels.