Using Turkish census microdata for cohorts born 1924–1984, this paper estimates the effect of early-life religious exposure on education. Identification comes from within enrollment-year, cross-province variation in Ramadan fasting hours mechanically generated by latitude and the shifting timing of Ramadan. As Ramadan rotates through the solar year, cross-province differences in fasting duration range from near zero around the equinoxes to about one hour per day near the solstices; fasting is longer in northern provinces when Ramadan falls in summer and longer in southern provinces when it falls in winter. In a reduced-form design with province and cohort (enrollment-year) fixed effects, longer fasting exposure during the enrollment year reduces primary school completion: a 30-minute increase in daily fasting lowers completion by 0.37 to 0.80 percentage points, with larger declines for girls. Results are similar when I use cumulative parental Ramadan exposure prior to enrollment as a proxy for the parental religious environment, with stronger effects among girls whose fathers have higher baseline religiosity. The evidence points to an extensive-margin mechanism at school entry: fasting duration predicts lower enrollment, but among enrollees it has no detectable effects on grade progression, graduation, or dropout. Complementary patterns in fertility and female labor force participation suggest broader gendered impacts of early-life religiosity.
This paper studies one micro-level mechanism that may contribute to persistent gender inequality in Muslim-majority countries: the effect of religiosity on girls’ and boys’ STEM achievement. I use eighth-grade Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) data and exploit quasi-random variation in the proximity of exam dates to the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. I find that girls’ math and science scores decline significantly in the three months following Ramadan, while boys’ scores are unaffected. Survey evidence suggests that the pattern operates through heightened religiosity and a strengthening of traditional gender norms within households. Consistent with this mechanism, I document post-Ramadan increases in indicators of gender stereotyping for girls, including lower academic self-confidence, greater negative peer pressure, memory depletion, and stricter parental treatment.
Presented at: 33rd European Association of Labor Economists; 3rd ASREC Graduate Student Workshops; 34th Annual Conference of European Society for Population Economics; 3rd Ph.D. Workshop in Economics at Collegio Carlo Alberto; #ASREC24hr; University of Utah; Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore