Econ Papers Daily / 期刊论文
妇女经济权利与儿童教育：来自美国历史改革的证据
Women’s economic rights and child education: evidence from historical reforms in the US
摘要
In the mid-nineteenth century, US states began implementing legal reforms that expanded the economic rights of married women. I hypothesize that these reforms improved child education by increasing the bargaining power of mothers, who tend to prioritize child welfare more than fathers do. Leveraging the variation in the timing of legislation across states, a border-county-pair analysis indicates that school enrollment rates increased following legislation. To further investigate the mechanism, I use linked census data to examine individual-level relationships. The results support both the impact on local populations and selective migration. Importantly, these relationships were more pronounced in households with literate mothers, who were likely more responsive to changes in the legal environment regarding women’s economic rights. In contrast, paternal literacy does not show similar patterns, supporting the distinct role of maternal influence in parental responses to the legal reforms.
中文摘要
19世纪中叶，美国各州开始实施法律改革，扩大了已婚女性的经济权利。我假设这些改革通过增强母亲的议价能力改善了子女教育，因为母亲往往比父亲更重视子女福利。利用各州立法时间上的差异，一项边界县配对分析表明，立法之后入学率有所上升。为进一步探究其机制，我使用关联人口普查数据来考察个体层面的关系。结果既支持对当地人口的影响，也支持选择性迁移。重要的是，这些关系在母亲识字家庭中更为显著，这类母亲可能对女性经济权利法律环境的变化更为敏感。相比之下，父亲识字并未呈现类似模式，这支持了母亲影响在父母对法律改革作出反应中的独特作用。