Publication Type
Working Paper
Version
publishedVersion
Publication Date
12-2012
Abstract
I unify the following (1) men face paternal uncertainty while women do not face maternal uncertainty, (2) putative fathers and paternal kin care about true paternity, (3) paternity confidence is systematically lower in matrilocal cultures than in patrilocal ones, (4) inheritance tends to be patrilineal in high paternity confidence cultures and matrilineal in low confidence ones, and (5) most societies with patrilineal inheritance were patrilocal while most societies with matrilineal inheritance were matrilocal. I model the co-evolution of inheritance patterns and post-marital residence patterns - and their relationship with paternity uncertainty. Using a game theoretic model, I examine how a "high paternity confidence" patrilocal-patrilineal equilibrium and a "low paternity confidence" matrilineal-matrilocal equilibrium could emerge. The endogenous choice of the old to monitor the sexual behavior of the young women who reside with them, thereby affecting the paternity confidence of the young women's husbands and hence their productive incentives, is crucial.
Keywords
Uncertain paternity, grandparents, incentives, patrilocality, inheritance, monitoring
Discipline
Behavioral Economics | Economics
Research Areas
Applied Microeconomics
First Page
1
Last Page
46
Publisher
SMU Economics and Statistics Working Paper Series, No. 37-2012
City or Country
Singapore
Citation
GUHA, Brishti.
Grandparents as Guards: A Game Theoretic Analysis of Inheritance and Post Marital Residence in a World of Uncertain Paternity. (2012). 1-46.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/soe_research/1418
Copyright Owner and License
Authors
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.