Household Composition and Schooling of Rural South African Children: Sibling Synergy and Migrant Effects

Katy Cornwell, Brett Inder, Pushkar Maitra and Anu Rammohan

No 22/05, Monash Economics Working Papers from Monash University, Department of Economics

Abstract: In this paper we examine the demand for education among rural Black households in South Africa using nationally representative data from the 1990s. In particular our study focuses on factors affecting schooling decisions at the household level. Our estimation results reveal strong evidence of a sibling synergy effect, in that the presence of other school-age children in a household makes it more likely that a child will attend school. We also find that having working-age migrant adults improves educational participation and attainment of children. Our results point to strong gender effects, with the presence of female migrants increasing the likelihood of girls getting more education. Finally, our results show that pensions in the hands of the grandmother increases the probability of girls attending school, but has little effect on the schooling of boys.

Keywords: Household composition; Schooling; Education Attainment; Sibling Synergy; Migrant Effects; South Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C25 I21 O12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 62 pages
Date: 2005-12-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-afr, nep-edu and nep-lab
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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