School drop out and farm input subsidies: gender and kinship heterogeneity in Malawi

Martin Mwale (), Dieter von Fintel and Anja Smith ()
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Martin Mwale: Department of Economics and Research on Socioeconomic Policy (ReSEP), Stellenbosch University
Anja Smith: Department of Economics and Research on Socioeconomic Policy (ReSEP), Stellenbosch University

No 01/2022, Working Papers from Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics

Abstract: An emerging interdisciplinary literature explores how kinship practices affect household resource allocation through efficiency of production and consumption. This paper focuses on a key gender norm - how a resource transfer to households affects school drop out of girls relative to boys, under different kinship practices. Specifically, we investigate how Malawi's farm input subsidy programme affects gendered school drop out across matrilineal and patrilineal communities. Because of matrilineal practices, girls facilitate the inter-generational transfer of wealth in these communities. They inherit property and often \emph{co-reside} with their parents after marriage, taking care of the parents in their old age. Boys undertake a similar duty in patrilineal communities. Our results indicate that school drop out decreases among girls who live in matrilineal households that participate in the subsidy programme. However, the impact is limited to matrilineal communities where couples reside in women's birth home-matrilocal home. School drop out is not affected by FISP receipt in patrilocal communities, where couples settle in the natal home of men. Furthermore, expenditure on schooling increases among matrilocal girls whose household receive FISP, and girls residing in the matrilocal communities experience a reduction in time spent on domestic chores once their household receives the subsidy. Our results suggest that a resource transfer to households reduces gender gaps in school drop out only in communities where investment in women is more valued by traditional practices than the investment in men.

Keywords: School drop out; Gender; Subsidy; Malawi; Sub-Sahara (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A13 D13 D33 I24 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-dev, nep-gen and nep-ure
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