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

Abstract

We study intergenerational educational mobility in India, using estimating equations derived from theory that incorporates gender bias in the family, school, and labor market. Evidence rejects the linear model, and finds a concave mobility curve irrespective of gender and location. Daughters of uneducated fathers face the lowest mobility. The gender gap declines with father's education, but son preference does not. Only urban college-educated households achieve gender parity despite biased financial investments. Evidence and theoretical insights suggest important roles for parental nonfinancial inputs and selective abortions. A comparison of patrilineal and matrilineal states highlights the importance of social norms.

Keywords: Gender Bias, Intergenerational Mobility, Education, Becker-Tomes Model, Heterogeneity, Son Preference, Unwanted Girls, India, Patrilineal, Matrilineal, Coresidency Bias

JEL Classification: I24, J62, J16, O20