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Acculturation, Education, and Gender Roles: Evidence from Canada

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  • Kessler, Anke
  • Milligan, Kevin

Abstract

This paper studies the influence of cultural norms on economic outcomes. We combine detailed information on second-generation female immigrants with historical data from their an- cestral source countries to see how the cultural endowment affects current decisions on work and fertility. We show that results using the standard approach are sensitive to context and specifi- cation. We then extend to reveal an education gradient for cultural assimilation: lower-educated women exhibit a strong influence of cultural variables while higher-educated women show no in- fluence at all. We gather and present evidence on several potential mechanisms for the education gradient.

Suggested Citation

  • Kessler, Anke & Milligan, Kevin, 2019. "Acculturation, Education, and Gender Roles: Evidence from Canada," CEPR Discussion Papers 13658, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:13658
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    Cited by:

    1. Markowsky, Eva, 2022. "Culture, Female Labour Force Participation, and Selective Migrationː New Meta-Analytic Evidence," WiSo-HH Working Paper Series 65, University of Hamburg, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences, WISO Research Laboratory.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Culture; Immigration; Assimilation; Labor supply; Fertility; Human capital;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers

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