Sibling Gender, Inheritance Customs and Educational Attainment

Abstract

This study identifies the causal effect of second-born gender on the education of first-born children and how it varies across traditional inheritance customs in 27 sub-Saharan African countries. When customs dictate that sons do not inherit from fathers, having a brother causes a 0.05 SD reduction in education. For boys who inherit, having a brother reduces inheritance, for which parents substitute greater educational investments. For first-born girls whose brother can inherit, having a brother causes a 0.028 SD reduction in education. Exploiting national legal reforms, I show that sibling gender effects converge when all children can inherit from their parents.