Beliefs and Investment in Child Human Capital: Case Study from Benin

Abstract

Because of its far-reaching consequences on income, inequality, and welfare, a large economic literature has attempted to uncover the determinants of parental investment in children. So far, most studies in this literature have focused on child characteristics to explain inequalities in parental investment among siblings. As a complement, I investigate whether existing beliefs about child value affect how parents allocate resources among siblings. To test this hypothesis, I use the case of twins which are venerated and worshipped as deities in several parts of Africa. Based on Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data from Benin, I find a twins preferential treatment in parental investment in child health. As this result survives various robustness checks and competing explanations, I explore its underlying mechanisms and discuss whether it should be interpreted as a behavioural anomaly or as the outcome of a rational cost-benefit calculus. Furthermore, a policy implication of my findings is that sustainable improvement of uptake of preventive health care in sub-Saharan Africa requires an increased attention to belief systems affecting parental investment in child health.