Publications (3)0 Total impact
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Article: Assessing the Effect of Foster-Children Supply on Biological Children Education Demand : Some Evidence from Cameroon
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ABSTRACT: In Cameroun, around 18 percent of children aged between 10-14 years old grow up within a sibship extended to host one (or more) foster-child. This proportion is similar in other African countries and in particular West African ones. This paper aims at estimating the effect of foster-children supply on biological children education demand of host parents in Cameroon. To address the endogeneity of foster-children supply, we estimate both decision within a recursive bivariate probit framework and use, as our identifying variable, the father's birth order among his brothers. Indeed, in patrilineal societies as in Cameroon, kinship rules involve children to be hosted by brothers of the male kin group, and more likely by the eldest. Using data from the demographic and health survey of Cameroon (2004), a dataset uniquely suitable for our purpose since information on the father's birth order are available, we find that children hosting school-age foster-relatives have a significant lower probability to attain their basic level of education relative to those who do not. This suggests that households hosting school-age foster-relatives due to kinship rules suffer from liquidity constraints preventing them from educating further their biological children. Through this result, we highlight the importance of the motive underlying child fostering to determine its spillover effects.HAL, Universit� Paris1 Panth�on-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers). 01/2009; -
Article: Explaining Differences in Education between Foster Children and Biological Children: a Sibling Rivalry Approach. Some Evidence from Indonesia
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ABSTRACT: This paper aims at explaining differences in education between foster-children and the biological children of their new household by differences in return to education as suggested by the human capital investment model. Defining this return by the amount of the old-age support the care-givers expect to receive, we assume that foster-children have a lower return to education than biological children, as the former might provide old-age support for both their host and biological parents while the latter to their biological parents only. Given this assumption and if the credit constraints are binding, the model suggests that foster-children will receive less human capital investment if there are in presence of host children than if they are not.In contrast, if parents have aversion against inequality, the prediction reverses: foster-children will receive more human capital investment if there are in presence of host children than if they are not.Using data from Indonesia, we provide some evidence in favor of the credit constraints hypothesis.This suggests that financial support to families who care for both biological and foster-children will enhance the latter education as it would reduce the credit constraints and thus, the induced sibling rivalry.07/2008; -
Article: Biological versus Foster Children Education: the Old-Age Support Motive as a Catch-up Determinant? Some Evidence from Indonesia
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ABSTRACT: This paper aims at explaining differences in education among foster-children and between foster and biological children in developing countries. Foster-children whose biological parents are alive may provide old-age support for both their host and biological parents. Therefore foster-children have lower returns to education than biological children and should receive less human capital investment in household where both types of children live together. However, in households where foster-children are alone, host parents will over-invest in their education to ensure that the expected old-age support will equal a minimum amount to survive. Using data from Indonesia, we provide some evidence supporting our hypothesis.07/2008;
