The Origins and Consequences of Kin Networks and Marriage Practices

The origins and consequences of kin networks and marriage practices by Duman Bahramirad M.Sc., University of Tehran, 2007 B.Sc., University of Tehran, 2005 Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Economics Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences c Duman Bahramirad 2018 SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY Summer 2018 Copyright in this work rests with the author. Please ensure that any reproduction or re-use is done in accordance with the relevant national copyright legislation. Approval Name: Duman Bahramirad Degree: Doctor of Philosophy (Economics) Title: The origins and consequences of kin networks and marriage practices Examining Committee: Chair: Nicolas Schmitt Professor Gregory K. Dow Senior Supervisor Professor Alexander K. Karaivanov Supervisor Professor Erik O. Kimbrough Supervisor Associate Professor Argyros School of Business and Economics Chapman University Simon D. Woodcock Supervisor Associate Professor Chris Bidner Internal Examiner Associate Professor Siwan Anderson External Examiner Professor Vancouver School of Economics University of British Columbia Date Defended: July 31, 2018 ii Ethics Statement iii iii Abstract In the first chapter, I investigate a potential channel to explain the heterogeneity of kin networks across societies. I argue and test the hypothesis that female inheritance has historically had a positive effect on in-marriage and a negative effect on female premarital relations and economic participation. In the second chapter, my co-authors and I provide evidence on the positive association of in-marriage and corruption. We also test the effect of family ties on nepotism in a bribery experiment. The third chapter presents my second joint paper on the consequences of kin networks. Taking a bigger-picture approach, we define a kinship intensity index based on basic elements of kinship systems such as marriage practices, residence patterns, and lineage organizations. Combining data on 20 psychological outcomes, we show that a significant portion of the existing psychological variation around the world originates in the differences of kin networks. Using historical measures of Church exposure, we also show that the variation in these differences arose historically from the Catholic Church’s marriage and family policies. Keywords: Female inheritance; Kin networks; Gender inequality; Cousin marriage; Endogamy; Corruption; Individualism iv Dedication To my wonderful wife, Mahsa. v Acknowledgements I would like to thank Greg Dow, Alexander Karaivanov, Erik Kimbrough, and Simon Woodcock for their guidance and support. vi Table of Contents Approval ii Ethics Statement iii Abstract iv Dedication v Acknowledgements vi Table of Contents vii List of Tables ix List of Figures x 1 Introduction 1 2 Keeping It in the Family: Female Inheritance, In-marriage, and the Status of Women 3 2.1 Introduction . 3 2.2 Inheritance system as a determinant of kinship pattern . 7 2.2.1 Classification of inheritance systems . 8 2.2.2 Origins and persistence of inheritance systems . 9 2.2.3 Patterns of inmarriage and female economic participation . 12 2.3 Conceptual framework . 13 2.3.1 Female inheritance and inmarriage . 15 2.3.2 Female inheritance and the status of women . 18 2.4 Empirical strategies and results using historical data . 20 2.4.1 Pre-industrial societies . 21 2.4.2 Mid-twentieth-century Italy . 25 2.5 Empirical strategies and results using contemporary data from developing countries 27 2.5.1 Individual-level analysis using Indonesian data . 28 2.5.2 Difference in differences analysis using Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act of India . 33 vii 2.6 Conclusion . 38 Bibliography Keeping It in the Family: Female Inheritance, In-marriage, and the Status of Women 40 3 Kinship, Fractionalization and Corruption 56 3.1 Introduction . 56 3.2 Theory and hypotheses . 63 3.2.1 A basic model of bribery . 63 3.2.2 Inclusive fitness, kin altruism, and corruption . 65 3.2.3 Consanguineous marriage, sub-ethnic fractionalization, and corruption . 67 3.3 Empirical Strategy and Results . 69 3.3.1 Cross-country analysis . 69 3.3.2 Within-country analysis (Italy) . 75 3.3.3 Laboratory Experiments . 81 3.4 Conclusion . 88 Bibliography Kinship, Fractionalization and Corruption 89 4 Origins of WEIRD Psychology 105 4.1 Theory . 106 4.2 Methods . 108 4.3 Results . 112 4.3.1 Psychological variation across countries . 113 4.3.2 Psychological Variation within Europe . 119 4.3.3 The children of immigrants . 123 4.4 Discussion . 124 Bibliography Origins of WEIRD psychology 125 Appendix A Keeping It in the Family: Female Inheritance, In-marriage, and the Status of Women 127 Appendix B Kinship, Fractionalization and Corruption 164 Appendix C Origins of Weird Psychology 217 viii List of Tables Table 2.1 Female inclusion and partibility of inheritance in the EA . 21 Table 2.2 Set of control variable used in the regression analyses with the EA data . 22 Table 2.3 First set of regression analyses with the EA data . 23 Table 2.4 Second set of regression analyses with the EA data . 24 Table 2.5 Regression analyses with data on Italian provinces . 27 Table 2.6 Ethnic-level regression analyses with IFLS data . 30 Table 2.7 Individual-level regression analyses with IFLS data . 31 Table 2.8 Diff-in-diff regression analyses with NFHS data . 36 Table 2.9 Diff-in-diff regression analyses with NFHS data, counterfactual trends . 37 Table 3.1 Misspecification due to omission of sub-ethnic fractionalization . 59 Table 3.2 Misspecification due to conflation of ethnic and sub-ethnic fractionalization . 59 Table 3.3 Religious attitudes to consanguineous marriage . 68 Table 3.4 Cross-country regression analysis of the relationship between consanguinity and corruption . 71 Table 3.5 Cross-country regression analysis of the relationship between consanguinity and corruption: potential confounds. 73 Table 3.6 Regression analysis of the relationship between consanguinity and corruption in Italy . 78 Table 3.7 Regression analysis of the relationship between consanguinity and corruption in Italy controlling for climate and geography. 78 Table 3.8 Reduced form regressions with active years of archdioceses . 79 Table 3.9 Active years of archdioceses as an instrument for consanguinity . 80 Table 3.10 Relative frequency of bribery and corruption by treatment . 85 Table 3.11 Summary of relative frequency of bribery and corruption . 87 Table 4.1 Psychological and behavioral measures . 112 Table 4.2 Baseline cross-country regressions for psychological outcomes . 119 Table 4.3 Regression of psychological outcomes on exposure to the medieval Western Church . 120 Table 4.4 Regression of psychological outcomes for the children of immigrants in Europe123 ix List of Figures Figure 2.1 Average cousin marriage rates in India . 6 Figure 2.2 Worldwide distribution of pre-industrial inheritance systems . 9 Figure 2.3 Cousin marriage and female economic participation rates around the world 12 Figure 2.4 Cousin marriage and female economic participation rates in Italy . 13 Figure 2.5 Female inheritance and cousin marriage . 17 Figure 2.6 Cousin marriage rates among Hindu women across Indian states. 33 Figure 3.1 A bribery game between strangers and relatives with inclusive fitness . 64 Figure 3.2 Corruption and consanguinity around the world . 70 Figure 3.3 Corruption and consanguinity in Italy . 77 Figure 3.4 Bribery game in the experiment . 82 Figure 4.1 Kinship Intensity Index for ethno-linguistic populations around the globe . 109 Figure 4.2 Western Church exposure across European regions . 110 Figure 4.3 Individualism and independence, kinship intensity and Church exposure . 114 Figure 4.4 Conformity and obedience, kinship intensity and Church exposure . 115 Figure 4.5 Impartiality, kinship intensity and Church exposure . 116 Figure 4.6 Impersonal cooperation and trust, kinship intensity and Church exposure . 117 Figure 4.7 Relationships between regional estimates of cousin marriage and psychological measures . 122 x Chapter 1 Introduction The thesis includes three chapters on the origins and consequences of kin networks, marriage practices, and gender norms. In the first chapter, I study historical origins of existing differences in marriage practices and gender norms across societies. I argue that in patrilineal societies that man- date female inheritance, such as Islamic societies, cousin marriage and endogamy have developed to preserve property in the male lineage, prevent land fragmentation, and limit conflicts over inheritance. In these societies, female inheritance has also encouraged restrictions on women’s premarital sexual freedom in order to arrange cousin marriages and avoid out-of-wedlock children as potential heirs. These restrictions, such as through veiling and segregation from men, are incompatible with female participation in agriculture and have further influenced the historical gender division of labor. Using data on pre-industrial societies, Italian provinces, and Indonesian individuals, I find evidence consistent with these hypotheses: female inheritance is associated with higher cousin marriage, endogamy, and arranged marriage, and lower female economic participation and premarital sexual freedom. Finally, I use a 2005 reform of Indian inheritance laws to obtain causal estimates of the effect of female inheritance on the cousin marriage rate and the female premarital sex rate. In the second chapter, along with my co-authors Mahsa Akbari and Erik Kimbrough, I study consequences of marriage practices

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