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Stay-at-Home Peer Mothers and Gender Norms: Short-run Effects on Educational Outcomes

Author

Listed:
  • Liwen Chen

    (East China Normal University)

  • Bobby W. Chung

    (University of South Florida)

  • Guanghua Wang

    (Nanjing Audit University)

Abstract

Increased exposure to gender-role information affects a girl's educational performance. Utilizing the classroom randomization in Chinese middle schools, we find that the increased presence of stay-at-home peer mothers significantly reduces a girl's performance in mathematics. This exposure also cultivates gendered attitudes towards mathematics and STEM professions. Long exposure, dense network, and distant parent-daughter relationship enhance peer mothers' influences. As falsification tests against unobserved confounding factors, we find that the exposure to stay-at-home peer mothers does not affect boys' performance, nor do we find that stay-at-home peer fathers affect girls' outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Liwen Chen & Bobby W. Chung & Guanghua Wang, 2023. "Stay-at-Home Peer Mothers and Gender Norms: Short-run Effects on Educational Outcomes," Working Papers 2023-03, University of South Florida, Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:usf:wpaper:2023-03
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cultural transmission; Gender identity; Gender norms; Role models;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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