Share-tenancy within the household unit
How to cite this publication:
Turid Bøe (1997). Share-tenancy within the household unit. Bergen: Chr. Michelsen Institute (CMI Working Paper WP 1997:2)
Virtually all peasant household models assume efficient allocation of household productive resources between different household activities. In an African context characterised by different plots of land being cultivated and controlled by different household members, the efficiency assumptions has been shown to be incorrect. In order to capture central aspects of African household organisation, this paper introduces the "share-tenancy" household model viewing the husband-wife relationship as a landlord-tenant relationship. The asymmetric relationship existing between husband and wife influences the way they react to changes in exogenous variables and explain the often observed lack of correspondence between changes in producer prices and agrarian output levels. The model also shows how such changes may influence the welfare levels of different household members in various ways.
