This paper studies preferences over income privacy within households using a laboratory experiment with low-income urban couples in Kenya that identifies willingness to pay for income hiding or transparency. We find that a substantial share of spouses are willing to sacrifice income to keep earnings hidden (36% of wives and 26% of husbands). At the same time, we document that a large fraction of spouses are willing to pay to reveal income to their partner (20% of wives and 31% of husbands). Using vignette-based survey experiments, we provide evidence on perceived motives and consequences of hiding and revealing income, including future-oriented investment, hedging against marital dissolution, and sanctions after financial disclosure. Together, these results challenge standard household models and provide a foundation to inform future cooperative and non-cooperative models of the household.
Authors: Hoel, Jessica B.; Jain, Prachi; and Singh, Anisha
Type: Working Paper
Publisher: BIGD
Year: 2026
