Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/318525 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
Hannover Economic Papers (HEP) No. 738
Publisher: 
Leibniz Universität Hannover, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät, Hannover
Abstract: 
In this study, we investigate the role of matrilineal kinship norms for gender gaps in labor market outcomes. We analyze the implementation of a reform that significantly altered the customary inheritance system by restricting practices within matrilineal ethnic groups, while those of non-matrilineal groups remained unchanged. As a result, men in matrilineal groups are now more likely to inherit from their fathers rather than their maternal uncles, fundamentally reshaping traditional kinship norms. Using cross-sectional survey data over multiple years in a difference-indifferences framework, we find that restricting these norms substantially increases the gender gap in adult labor hours and child labor. These effects are concentrated in land-owning households, with particularly strong impacts on agricultural labor. In contrast, although the reform leads to significantly reduced transfers to women - indicating weakened ties to their extended families - we find no evidence of tighter household budget constraints or declines in female bargaining power. This suggests that the observed labor effects are not driven by reduced support from the matrikin. Instead, the findings point to a mechanism in which improved prospects for male land inheritance increase men's incentives to engage in agricultural work by raising the returns to their labor.
Subjects: 
Gender Norms
Labor Supply
Child Labor
Inheritance
JEL: 
J16
J21
J22
D13
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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