Forced gifts: The burden of being a friend

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dc.creatorBulte, Erwin
dc.creatorWang, Ruixin
dc.creatorZhang, Xiaobo
dc.date2017
dc.date2024-06-21T09:23:09Z
dc.date2024-06-21T09:23:09Z
dc.date.accessioned2026-06-27T15:40:58Z
dc.descriptionIn many developing countries, gift expenses account for a substantial share of total household expenditures. As incomes rise, gift expenses are escalating in several developing countries. We develop a theoretical model to demonstrate how (unequal) income growth may trigger “gift competition” and drive up the financial burden associated with gift exchange. We use unique census-type panel data from rural China to test our model predictions and demonstrate that (1) the value of gifts responds to the average gift in the community, (2) the escalation of gift giving may have adverse welfare implications (especially for the poor), and (3) escalating gift expenses crowd out expenditures on other consumption items.
dc.formatapplication/pdf
dc.identifierhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/147671
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/123456789/111585
dc.languageen
dc.publisherInternational Food Policy Research Institute
dc.relationhttps://hdl.handle.net/10568/154002
dc.rightsOpen Access
dc.sourceBulte, Erwin; Wang, Ruixin; and Zhang, Xiaobo. 2017. Forced gifts: The burden of being a friend. IFPRI Discussion Paper 1615. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/147671
dc.subjectincome
dc.subjectrural communities
dc.subjecthousehold expenditure
dc.subjectwelfare
dc.subjectdeveloping countries
dc.subjectequality
dc.titleForced gifts: The burden of being a friend
dc.typeWorking Paper

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Instituto Internacional de Investigación sobre Políticas Alimentarias (IFPRI)