Is Gender Destiny? Gender Bias and Intergenerational Educational Mobility in India

Abstract：  

We develop a model of intergenerational educational mobility incorporating gender bias against girls in the family, school, and labor market. Mobility and investment equations from the model are estimated for India using data not truncated by coresidency. The standard linear model misses important heterogeneity and yields misleading conclusions. Daughters of uneducated fathers are doubly disadvantaged, facing lower relative and absolute mobility (rural and urban). We find gender convergence in absolute mobility for children of urban college educated fathers, but not in rural areas. Unwanted girls and patrilineal states are important for explaining the findings. Theoretical insights help understand the mechanisms.

Speaker Biography：   

蒋涵晨博士，男，于2020年在美国约翰霍普金斯大学经济系获得经济学博士学位，并于2014年在美国范德堡大学获得发展经济学硕士学位，主要研究方向为劳动经济学，城市经济学，和发展经济学，尤其关注儿童发展、代际流动、住房保障、城乡流动和城市化等议题。蒋涵晨博士长期担任世界银行顾问，现任美国University of North Texas助理教授。