Based on the estimate of demand functions for adult goods and the evaluation of outlay equivalents, the present study suggests that, contrary to what is sometimes asserted, the hypothesis of a gender bias within the household - so that girls receive less than boys - seems more probable in Africa. Indeed, using the data from the 1994_95 household survey of the Burkina Faso, it is found that, for the whole of the goods consumed by the adults and whatever the demographic group considered, the equivalence ratios are largely more negative than those of the women. In this respect, disrimination is probably the most obvious story, considering of the differential of schooling according to the gender, the greatest precariousness of female labour market and the organisation of the burkinabè social system. Nevertheless, this aggregateed conclusion must be moderate. First of all, although the intrahousehold inequality can prevail independently of the sector, it couldbe more accentuated in countryside that in cities. Then, the analysis tends to show the presence of a gender bias in favor of boys, especially in northern regions and the West, and in a lesser extent, to Ouagadougou and Bobo_Dioulasso, zones that precisely shelter the most important proportions of Moslem population. Lastly, the observation of outlay equivalents shows that girls get less than boys in groups managed by the men. This phenomenon could be explained by the role of the head of household at the time of the decision-making, the demographic composition of female households favorable to the women and the role of old women whose proportion is important within the latter. Such results encourage to relativize the identification of the well_being of the individuals on the average standard of living of the household to which they belong, and could weaken the efficiency of poverty alleviation policies, based on the effective increase in the resources of the poorest households, independently of the intrahousehold allocation of resources. (Full text in French)
