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Inheritance patterns in migration-prone communities of the Peruvian Highlands

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Listed author(s):
  • Goetghebuer, Tatiana
  • Platteau, Jean-Philippe

Abstract

On the basis of detailed information on inheritance practices collected in the course of an in-depth survey of three Andean communities of Peru, and unlike most empirical studies which rely on remittance functions, we have been able to estimate an inheritance function with a view to identifying the main factors associated with particular patterns of land bequests. A central result is that the positive relationship between caring and a favourable access to land bequest indeed exists, yet is only observed for migrant children (whether urban or rural, long-distance or short-distance migrants). Combined with other findings and observations, this result strengthens the case for an interpretation based on an active role of potential heirs in the determination of inheritance outcomes. It therefore calls into question the strategic bequest theory which presumes that parents are the ultimate decision-makers in this matter. In addition, our study shows that inheritance patterns are complex: besides migration and caring behavior, personal characteristics of potential heirs, such as gender, birth order, and family status (having children or not), do appear to influence division of parental land.

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File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304-3878(09)00048-0
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Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Journal of Development Economics.

Volume (Year): 93 (2010)
Issue (Month): 1 (September)
Pages: 71-87

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Handle: RePEc:eee:deveco:v:93:y:2010:i:1:p:71-87
Contact details of provider: Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/devec

Keywords: Land access Inheritance Migration Strategic bequest;

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  1. Stark, Oded & Lucas, Robert E B, 1988. "Migration, Remittances, and the Family," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 36(3), pages 465-481, April.
  2. Becker, Gary S & Tomes, Nigel, 1976. "Child Endowments and the Quantity and Quality of Children," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 84(4), pages 143-162, August.
  3. Maristella Botticini & Aloysius Siow, 2003. "Why Dowries?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(4), pages 1385-1398, September.
  4. B. Douglas Bernheim & Sergei Severinov, 2003. "Bequests as Signals: An Explanation for the Equal Division Puzzle," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(4), pages 733-764, August.
  5. Baker, Matthew & Miceli, Thomas J., 2005. "Land inheritance rules: theory and cross-cultural analysis," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 56(1), pages 77-102, January.
  6. Hoddinott, John, 1992. "Rotten Kids or Manipulative Parents: Are Children Old Age Security in Western Kenya?," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 40(3), pages 545-565, April.
  7. Edward C. Norton & Hua Wang & Chunrong Ai, 2004. "Computing interaction effects and standard errors in logit and probit models," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 4(2), pages 154-167, June.
  8. La Ferrara, Eliana, 2007. "Descent rules and strategic transfers. Evidence from matrilineal groups in Ghana," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 83(2), pages 280-301, July.
  9. Lucas, Robert E B & Stark, Oded, 1985. "Motivations to Remit: Evidence from Botswana," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 93(5), pages 901-918, October.
  10. Bernheim, B Douglas & Shleifer, Andrei & Summers, Lawrence H, 1986. "The Strategic Bequest Motive," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(3), pages 151-182, July.
  11. Gertrud Schrieder & Beatrice Knerr, 2000. "Labour Migration as a Social Security Mechanism for Smallholder Households in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Case of Cameroon," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(2), pages 223-236.
  12. Hoddinott, John, 1992. "Modelling Remittance Flows in Kenya," Journal of African Economies, Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE), vol. 1(2), pages 206-232, August.
  13. Andre, Catherine & Platteau, Jean-Philippe, 1998. "Land relations under unbearable stress: Rwanda caught in the Malthusian trap," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 1-47, January.
  14. de la Briere, Benedicte & Sadoulet, Elisabeth & de Janvry, Alain & Lambert, Sylvie, 2002. "The roles of destination, gender, and household composition in explaining remittances: an analysis for the Dominican Sierra," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 309-328, August.
  15. Jere R. Behrman & Mark R. Rosenzweig, 2004. "Parental Allocations to Children: New Evidence on Bequest Differences among Siblings," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 86(2), pages 637-640, May.
  16. Yang-Ming Chang & Dennis L. Weisman, 2005. "Sibling Rivalry and Strategic Parental Transfers," Southern Economic Journal, Southern Economic Association, vol. 71(4), pages 821-836, April.
  17. Hoddinott, John, 1994. "A Model of Migration and Remittances Applied to Western Kenya," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 46(3), pages 459-476, July.
  18. Blomquist, N. S., 1979. "The inheritance function," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 12(1), pages 41-60, August.
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Cited by:

  1. Delpierre, Matthieu & Dupuy, Arnaud & Tenikue, Michel & Verheyden, Bertrand, 2017. "The Education Motive for Migrant Remittances: Theory and Evidence from India," IZA Discussion Papers 10772, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  2. Deininger, Klaus & Xia, Fang & Jin, Songqing & Nagarajan, Hari K., 2014. "Inheritance law reform, empowerment, and human capital accumulation : second-generation effects from India," Policy Research Working Paper Series 7086, The World Bank.
  3. Braaten, Ragnhild Haugli, 2014. "Land Rights and Community Cooperation," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 127-141.
  4. La Ferrara, Eliana & Milazzo, Annamaria, 2014. "Customary Norms, Inheritance, and Human Capital: Evidence from a Reform of the Matrilineal System in Ghana," CEPR Discussion Papers 10159, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.

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