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| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Preprint |
| Published: |
2026
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.04771 |
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| _version_ | 1866915983897133056 |
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| author | Hubner, Stefan |
| author_facet | Hubner, Stefan |
| contents | 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. |
| format | Preprint |
| id |
arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2605_04771 |
| institution | arXiv |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| record_format | arxiv |
| spellingShingle | It's complicated: A Non-parametric Test of Preference Stability between Singles and Couples Hubner, Stefan Econometrics 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. |
| title | It's complicated: A Non-parametric Test of Preference Stability between Singles and Couples |
| topic | Econometrics |
| url | https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.04771 |