October 2009

IZA DP No. 4499: Village Economies and the Structure of Extended Family Networks

published in: B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy: Contributions to Economic Analysis and Policy . 2009, 9 (1)

这个文件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.