Abstract

This study compared men and women from T.A Kuntumanji, Zomba on their preferences on expenditure and decision-making of public works cash transfers. The study also evaluated decisions and how they influence use of transfers within households in the area. There is usually an assumption that married women are taken care of by their husbands in targeted programmes such as the public Works Programmes. However, intra-household dynamics have an important bearing on the process of decision-making and household welfare. This is a result of variations in how decisions regarding use of cash transfers are made in male headed households and the effects of such decisions on family welfare. The study used both qualitative and quantitative methodologies to collect data from a purposively sampled population from T. A. Kuntumanji where five different Public Works Programmes (PWPs) are taking place. These programmes include road rehabilitation, afforestation, agricultural programmes, irrigation and construction of fish ponds. The study found that household decision-making is affected by social norms and beliefs that people hold pertaining to who in a household has power to make decisions. The study also found that women‘s preferences incline towards child welfare and do not necessarily reflect their own needs. On the other hand, men prefer to meet the immediate needs of the household and are free to meet their personal needs. Further, the study found that women initiate decisions, but they do not have a final say in the final decisions. When they initiate decisions the women do it in a way that appears as if their husbands are the ones making the decisions.

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School	: School of Law, Economics and Government
Issued Date	: 2014

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