Sibling Gender, Inheritance Customs and Educational Attainment: Evidence from Matrilineal and Patrilineal Societies

Matthew Collins

No 2022:5, Working Papers from Lund University, Department of Economics

Abstract: Using data from 27 sub-Saharan African countries, I identify the causal effect of sibling gender on education and how it varies according to inheritance customs. Boys who inherit their father's property experience no effect of sibling gender, while boys who do not inherit experience a significant negative effect of having a brother. Having a brother has a small negative effect on the education of girls, regardless of inheritance customs. The effect of sibling gender converges after the introduction of laws guaranteeing that children inherit from their parents, suggesting that parents substitute between transferring inheritance and investing in their children’s education.

Keywords: sibling gender; patriliny; matriliny; educational attainment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D13 I20 J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 79 pages
Date: 2022-03-07
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dem, nep-dev, nep-edu and nep-gen
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hhs:lunewp:2022_005

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