Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP7496
Authors: Manuela Angelucci; Giacomo De Giorgi; Marcos A. Rangel; Imran Rasul
Abstract: This paper documents how the structure of extended family networks in rural Mexico relates to the poverty and inequality of the village of residence. Using the Hispanic naming convention, we construct within-village extended family networks in 504 poor rural villages. Family networks are larger (both in the number of members and as a share of the village population) and out-migration is lower the poorer and the less unequal the village of residence. Our results are consistent with the extended family being a source of informal insurance to its members.
Keywords: extended family; network; migration; village inequality; village marginality
JEL Codes: J12; O12; O17
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Poorer villages (I32) | Larger family networks (J12) |
| More equal villages (P32) | Larger family networks (J12) |
| Larger family networks (J12) | Better smoothing of idiosyncratic shocks (E32) |
| Poorer villages (I32) | Co-resident intra- and intergenerational ties (J12) |
| More equal villages (P32) | Co-resident intra- and intergenerational ties (J12) |
| More unequal villages (R12) | Permanent outmigration (F22) |
| Poorer and more equal villages (P32) | Denser family networks (Z13) |