Research

Lack of education is a significant obstacle to development in Sub-Saharan Africa, where high illiteracy rates, educational inequality, and a large number of out-of-school children persist despite ongoing reforms. An important, but often overlooked, contributing factor to educational disparities is inequality within families, which accounts for approximately 40% of the variation in educational attainment in developing countries. While educational inequality is increasingly studied, the findings are fragmented and lack integrated analysis. I fill this gap by comprehensively examining how gender, birth order, and innate ability interact to shape educational disparities within households. This paper is the first to model and estimate how parents distribute human capital resources based on these factors. Through a reduced form analysis, I establish two key findings about intra-household educational inequality in Benin. First, the relationship between the mean and variance of education at the household level follows a non-linear, hump-shaped pattern. Second, I decompose educational inequality into gender, birth order, and unobserved residual effects, finding that among households with non-educated heads and one child of each gender, over two-thirds of the average inequality is due to gender and birth order, while among college-educated parents, only one-third is due to these factors. I propose and estimate a structural model of household educational resource allocation. I use the model framework to analyze diverse counterfactual situations. These analyses suggest that removing extensive margin barriers to education lowers average inequality in the sample without reducing the share of gender effect, while targeted cost reduction eliminates the shares of gender and birth order effects without reducing average inequality. This research highlights the complex drivers of educational inequalities and proposes effective policy measures.

This paper uses a nonlinear difference-in-differences approach to empirically examine the Maximally Maintained Inequality (MMI) hypothesis in rural Benin. The findings confirm the MMI hypothesis, revealing that on one hand when more than two-thirds of educated parents choose to educate their daughters in the absence of educational programs, compared to only approximately one-third among non-educated parents, a tuition fee subsidy increases enrollment probability in primary schools by approximately 3.8% among non-educated households and has no significant effect for most educated households. On the other hand, among parents with non-educated children, where less than one-third of educated parents educate their daughters before the subsidy program, the average effect of tuition fee waivers on enrollment probability in primary schools increases to 19.64% for non-educated households and 24% for educated households. Three key conclusions from the analysis of households' education decisions explain the MMI mechanism: (1) High-income advantage for educated households leads to a greater response to financial cost reductions among non-educated households; (2) No income advantage among educated parents results in a greater response among educated households; (3) With low-income advantage among educated parents, non-educated households respond more if the preference advantage for education among educated parents is relatively smaller.

This study investigates the dynamics of assortative mating in education within the marriage market context. Drawing from empirical research and theoretical frameworks, it examines the phenomenon of educational homogamy and its implications, particularly in societies where polygamy exists. Utilizing a model proposed by Gould (2008), the paper delves into the paradoxical emergence of polygamy among less educated men and its relationship with preferences for spouse and offspring quality. Using data from the marriage market in Benin, West Africa, the study analyzes the marriage market equilibrium facilitating multiple wives for less educated and less affluent men. My study uncovers two significant findings. First, educational homogamy is observed in both polygamous and monogamous marriages, but more pronounced in monogamous unions. Second, affluent men, particularly those involved in farming in rural areas, are 6% more likely to engage in polygamous unions compared to men in non-agricultural occupations, while educated individuals are 8% less likely to participate in such unions. These results highlight the role of socio-economic factors, like income and education, in shaping marriage market dynamics and marital outcomes. Additionally, a positive association between the number of children and the prevalence of polygamy is identified. This research contributes to a deeper understanding of educational assortative mating and polygamy dynamics, shedding light on socio-economic factors influencing marital arrangements.

This study employs a one-level nested logit model within the BLP framework to estimate demand for deposits and loans in Ghana's commercial banking industry. The analysis reveals that the demand for deposits increases with higher interest rates, while loan demand decreases as loan interest rates rise. The results indicate a preference for foreign banks and those with strong short-term financial obligations. Additionally, the model suggests that consumers view banks of the same type as close substitutes for both deposit and loan services. These findings enhance our understanding of consumer behavior and demand patterns in the Ghanaian banking sector.