Orphans in Africa: Parental Death, Poverty and School Enrollment

Anne Case (), Christina Paxson and Joseph Ableidinger
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Joseph Ableidinger: Princeton University

No 256, Working Papers from Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Health and Wellbeing.

Abstract: We examine the impact of orphanhood on children’s school enrollment in10 Sub-Saharan African countries. Although poorer children in Africa are less likely to attend school, the lower enrollment of orphans is not accounted for solely by their poverty. We find orphans are less likely to be enrolled than are non-orphans with whom they live. Consistent with Hamilton’s Rule, the theory that the closeness of biological ties governs altruistic behavior, outcomes for orphans depend on the relatedness of orphans to their household heads. The lower enrollment of orphans is largely explained by the greater tendency of orphans to live with distant relatives or unrelated caregivers.

Date: 2004-03
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Working Paper: Orphans in Africa: Parental Death, Poverty and School Enrollment (2004)
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