Education and Income in a Matrilineal Society: A Household Level Analysis

Kenny R. Shullai¹ & Bhagirathi Panda²

Shullai, K.R., & Panda, B. (2023). Education and Income in a Matrilineal Society: A Household Level Analysis. InterViews: An Interdisciplinary Journal in Social Sciences, 10(1), pp. 40-53. https://doi.org/10.36061/IV.10.1.23.40.53

Abstract

It is widely accepted that with higher education comes higher income and access to more options in the labour market. In India, having low educational qualifications can mean inaccessibility to jobs in the formal and corporate sectors. The literature is also replete with studies linking the positive association of education and income. The objective of the present study is to examine the relationship between parental educational levels and household income in the matrilineal society of Meghalaya. The results indicate that the education of the parents is statistically significant in determining the likelihood of being in a low household income level. Mothers’ education is particularly larger in contributing to the effects as compared to fathers’ education by almost 60%. The age of the parents was found to be related (though weaker) to being at a low household income level, with opposite effects for the mother and father. The older the mother, the less likely it is for a household to be at a low household income level, but the opposite was true for the father. Policy-makers addressing the twin issues of household poverty and human development can partner with schools in identifying parents, especially mothers from low household income levels who have low educational levels. Policy intervention can aim at reskilling and re-educating mothers in the relevant skill sets that can improve their human capital and access to the labour market.

Keywords: Parents’ education, Parents’ age, Household-income, Matrilineal society

¹Kenny R. Shullai is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Economics, Shillong, Martin Luther Christian University, Meghalaya, India. Correspondence regarding this article may be directed to: kenshullai@gmail.com

²Bhagirathi Panda is a Professor in the Department of Economics, North Eastern Hill University, Shillong, Meghalaya, India