Doctoral Dissertation Research in Economics: Family Networks, Inheritance and Orphans in Tanzania

Yale University, New Haven CT

Investigators

Abstract

The debate over the role of nature versus nurture continues to be unresolved partly because of lack of appropriate data to test the relative importance of each factor. This doctoral dissertation will analyze the effects of orphanhood on orphaned children in the Kagera region of Tanzania. Between 13 and 20% of all children have lost at least one parent. Since the effects on the orphans may depend on the motives of the caretaking families, the decision to take care of an orphan will be formally modeled to incorporate the costs and benefits of taking in an orphan. Using asset information on the individuals' households from 1994, the research will analyze patterns of inheritance within the Kagera region. Inheritances will be explained by a number of factors including differing customary inheritance laws across tribes while also accounting for recent legislative changes concerning, in particular, women's and female children's inheritance rights. Inheritance rights will then be linked to the decision of household members to take in orphans and ultimately to the welfare effects on orphans. The research will collect and analyze data on the welfare of orphaned children in the Kagera region of Tanzania. The data collection for this project builds on an existing panel dataset, the World Bank Kagera Health and Development Survey (KHDS), covering the years 1991-1994 and 2004. Around 150 orphans found in the sample will be selected. They, their foster families and other members of their family network who did not take care of them will be administered a survey instrument. The link with the KHDS data will allow us to take into account that parents who die may have very different characteristics than those who are alive. The analysis of the allocation of orphans within networks will provide insights on risk sharing within family networks, how household size changes in response to shocks and whether networks are becoming overburdened. The welfare analysis will help identifying the most vulnerable orphans and thus inform the policy debate. The research will also partly inform on the nature/nurture debate by comparing the wellbeing of orphaned children with those of non-orphans. The analysis of patterns of inheritance will inform the policy debate whether recent legislative changes had observable effects on inheritance patterns and orphan outcomes.