This paper investigates the effect of the differential pecuniary costs of sons and daughters on fertility decisions. The focus is on dowries in India, which increase the economic returns to sons and decrease the returns to daughters. The paper exploits an exogenous shift in the cost of girls...

Islamic law lays down detailed rules regulating the upbringing of children. This study examines the effect of such rules on parental behaviour by analysing the introduction of Sharia law in northern Nigeria. The empirical strategy exploits variation across administrative areas, time and religion...

This paper investigates the effect of the differential pecuniary costs of sons and daughters on fertility decisions. The focus is on dowries in India, which increase the economic returns to sons and decrease the returns to daughters. The paper exploits an exogenous shift in the cost of girls...