Gender Labor Income Shares and Human Capital Investment in the Republic of Congo

This paper uses a recent, nationally representative household survey for the Republic of Congo—the 2005 ECOM (Enquête Congolaise auprès des Ménages) survey—to test the unitary model of household consumption. The study finds that a higher labor income share obtained by women does lead to a higher share of household consumption allocated to investments in human capital (as proxied through spending for food, education, health, and children’s clothing). The impact is not negligible and it is statistically significant, suggesting long-term benefits through children from efforts to increase female labor income.