title: The gender gap in relation to happiness and preferences in married couples after childbirth: evidence from a field experiment in rural Ghana.
abstract: How does the gap in preferences between married couples affect their happiness after childbirth? Are couples that share similar preferences happier? In recent years, gender, marriage, and happiness have been considered to be key issues in public health research. Although much research has examined the happiness status of married couples, practically no study has explored the gender gap in relation to happiness and the preferences of married couples after childbirth. Therefore, our study was conducted to assess the association between the preference gap and the happiness status among married couples in the afterbirth period.
  
  
  
  We conducted a field experiment in rural communities in the Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana. Participants were 80 married couples who had experienced childbirth within 2 years prior to the survey. As preference indicators, we measured trust, reciprocity, altruism, and risk lovingness through an economic experiment. Then, we assessed how, for a couple, the gap between these preferences affected their happiness.
  
  
  
  Wives' happiness was positively associated with the absolute value of the gap in risk lovingness between a couple (OR = 4.83, p = 0.08), while husbands' happiness was negatively associated with the gap in trust (OR = -3.58, p = 0.04) or altruism (OR = -3.33, p = 0.02). Within a couple, wives felt greater happiness than their husbands if there was a wider gap in trust (OR = 6.22, p = 0.01), reciprocity (OR = 2.80, p = 0.01), or risk lovingness (OR = 3.81, p = 0.07).
  
  
  
  The gender gaps in the preference indicators were found to be closely associated with the happiness levels between married couples after childbirth. For the further improvement of maternal and child health, we must consider the gender gaps between couples in relation to happiness and preferences.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Economics, Ryukoku University, 67 Tsukamoto-cho, Fukakusa, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto City, 612-8577, Japan. ykamiyaryukoku@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kamiya
authors.affiliation: Kintampo Health Research Centre, P.O. Box 200, Kintampo, Brong-Ahafo, Ghana.
authors.forename: Bright
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Akpalu
authors.affiliation: Kintampo Health Research Centre, P.O. Box 200, Kintampo, Brong-Ahafo, Ghana.
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mahama
authors.affiliation: Kintampo Health Research Centre, P.O. Box 200, Kintampo, Brong-Ahafo, Ghana.
authors.forename: Emmanuel Kwesi
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Ayipah
authors.affiliation: Kintampo Health Research Centre, P.O. Box 200, Kintampo, Brong-Ahafo, Ghana.
authors.forename: Seth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Owusu-Agyei
authors.affiliation: Research and Development Division, Ghana Health Service, MB 190, Accra, Ghana.
authors.forename: Abraham
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hodgson
authors.affiliation: Department of Community and Global Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.
authors.forename: Akira
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shibanuma
authors.affiliation: Institute of Decision Science for a Sustainable Society (IDS3), Kyushu University, 3-1-1, Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka City, 8128582, Japan.
authors.forename: Kimiyo
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.affiliation: Department of Community and Global Health, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-0033, Japan.
authors.forename: Masamine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jimba
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000533:Altruism; D001290:Attitude; D000067576:Child Health; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008393:Marriage; D000068097:Maternal Health; D008875:Middle Aged; D036801:Parturition; D012306:Risk; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012424:Rural Population; D018454:Spouses; D035502:Trust; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Childbirth; Economic experiment; Gender; Ghana; Happiness; Marriage; Preferences