The theoretical analysis of family behaviour has gained significantly from the latest developments in economic modelling and contributed to a better understanding of intra-family resource allocation. From a methodological as well as an analytical point of view, bargaining models offer an appealing approach to the decision making process of families. Due to the lack of disaggregated information, however, the empirical implementation of these models remains difficult. In this project, new data are collected in order to treat the relevant questions related to the economics of the household in a more satisfying way. Thus, the project tries to close a fundamental gap in the empirical research on the household decision process. The project consists of two parts:The first part compares different economic models of family behaviour. The aim of this study is threefold: First, we deduce testable hypothesis in order to discriminate empirically between different models of household behaviour. Second, a synthetic data will be used in order to measure the testability of the underlying restrictions of those models. Finally, household bargaining models will be estimated using the available data sets to formulate requirements to the design and the instruments of the new data set. This work will be completed by the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW Mannheim). The second part of the project part concentrates on the formulation of the items. A first aim is to identify through a multivariate analysis the typical time use design and the structure of the individual consumption of goods, using available data sets. The final objective is to develop items which will provide the necessary information to correctly estimate the determinants of family behaviour. This part will be carried out at the Ruhr University Bochum.Both parts are strongly interrelated.