This paper examines how early-life religious exposure affects educational attainment and gender equality. Using Turkish census data for 1924–1984 cohorts, I exploit within-enrollment-year, cross-province variation in Ramadan fasting duration driven by latitude and the lunar calendar as a proxy for local religious intensity. I find that longer fasting exposure during the school-entry year significantly reduces primary school completion, disproportionately affecting girls. This disruption operates entirely through lowered initial enrollment and is amplified by paternal religiosity. Ultimately, this early-life exposure generates permanent path dependencies, reducing adult female labor force participation and increasing completed fertility.
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