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# EQUITY, HUMAN CAPITAL ACCUMUIATION, AND WELFARE IN THE FAMILY

22. Cultural constraints on women pervade the household and, particularly in poorer regions, leave women at a disadvantage as producers and consumers. The disadvantage often begins early for girls. Especially in low-income households, they tend to receive less of the education and health care that would enable them eventually to respond to economic opportunities (see table 1 for health and education indicators). The disadvantage persists into adulthood. Women who are ill, weak, poorly educated, and ill-equipped to time pregnancy have more difficulty obtaining and using the resources and information needed for full productivity or family needs. The cost of constraining women thus extends to the family -- particularly to children -- and to the economy.

23. Analysis to improve women's opportunities ought to extend beyond economics, to culture and society. It should start by disaggregating within the household by gender, to see who has what access to information, resources, and human and physical capital, and to see how policies and programs may influence that distribution. This will often require a sensitive analysis of how families work -- of the roles of men and women. Women's welfare hinges heavily on men. To find acceptable ways of helping women, one must understand the real, as opposed to the public, attitudes of men and women. Attitudes are changing in many places, of course, as development -- particularly education -- proceeds. It is important to understand both basic traditions and major areas of cultural change that affect women.

# Inequality of Human CaRital Investments in the Family

24. Most economic analysis treats the household as a unit -- assuming a consensus on objectives (expressed in a single utility function) and a pooling of resources to meet those objectives. In fact, the interests of different household members often conflict (Acharya and Bennett, 1982; Bevan and others 1988; Blumberg 1987; Schultz 1989; Sen 1987). Stronger members of the household impose rules on the labor and resource allocation or consumption of weaker members, including women. Even if women retain control over a traditional sphere of "women's work," subtle social forces within a male-headed household or society may leave women on balance at a disadvantage (Acharya and Bennett 1982; Sen 1987; World Bank 1989b; King and Evenson 1983). This disadvantage may show up in patterns of consumption of food, health care, education, and the like.

25. It is difficult to determine precisely who consumes what in a household, particularly from household production. Studies of intrafamily distribution of resources and consumption patterns therefore often focus on indicators of human capital investments in children or women, as human capital is embodied in the individual and is in important respects measurable (Schultz 1989; Chen and others 1981; Horowitz 1980). Key indicators include life expectancy at birth and schooling.

26. Lower life exDectancy. Despite cultural variations, women tend to be most at a disadvantage in the poorer countries, as measured by health indicators. Where resources are plentiful, "natural' life expectancy for women exceeds that