Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · 13d

So happy to finally see my Job Market Paper published at the @j-humanresources.bsky.social ! 🙌

The JHR @j-humanresources.bsky.social · 14d

Culture shapes #FamilyInvestment choices.
@collinsmatthew.bsky.social found that having a brother reduces #Education for first-born boys by 0.05 SD in cultures where sons don’t inherit from their fathers. When sons can’t inherit, parents compensate with more education.
doi.org/10.3368/jhr....

Sibling Gender, Inheritance Customs and Educational Attainment
Matthew Collins
This study identifies the causal effect of second-born gender on the education of first-born children and how it varies across traditional inheritance customs in 27 sub-Saharan African countries. When customs dictate that sons do not inherit from fathers, having a brother causes a 0.05 SD reduction in education. For boys who inherit, having a brother reduces inheritance, for which parents substitute greater educational investments. For first-born girls whose brother can inherit, having a brother causes a 0.028 SD reduction in education. Exploiting national legal reforms, I show that sibling gender effects converge when all children can inherit from their parents.

4 17

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · Aug 6

And for more details on the workshop (and games), see my previous thread:

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · Jul 7

Ireland's 1st replication games!

In collaboration with the @i4replication.bsky.social, and as part of the annual CERIS Workshop, we are hosting Ireland's first replication games in Galway on September 25-26th.

1

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · Aug 6

Join us in Galway for Ireland's first Replication Games! This year, we are hosting a replication games in collaboration with @i4replication.bsky.social, alongside the annual CERIS workshop.

You can sign up for the replication games here 👇

Institute for Replication @i4replication.bsky.social · Aug 6

We have our first games ever in Ireland next month. The event will be at the University of Galway as part of CERIS’s Annual Workshop on September 26th. Virtual participation is possible and coauthorship to a meta paper is granted.

Register here: www.surveymonkey.ca/r/Replicatio...

1 1

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · Aug 6

👇👇👇

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · Jul 16

Free Primary Education is widely seen as a tool to promote long-term growth, but in a new working paper (🚨),
@eleonoraguarnieri.bsky.social, Helmut Rainer and I show that the effects are more immediate and wide-reaching, with FPE leading to reduced fertility and greater female empowerment.

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · Aug 6

Check out our new working paper! See below for a thread summarising our findings!

CESifo @cesifo.org · Aug 6

🚨Working Paper Alert!
"Fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa: The Interplay Between Policy, Culture, and Intra-Household Bargaining"👶👫
✍️ @collinsmatthew.bsky.social @eleonoraguarnieri.bsky.social Helmut Rainer

Read the full paper here:
www.ifo.de/en/cesifo/pu...

1 2

Reposted by Matthew Collins

CESifo @cesifo.org · Aug 5

Welcome @collinsmatthew.bsky.social!
We’re excited to introduce him as a new network member. His research covers topics in applied microeconomics related to human capital, child development and inequalities. 📚

Learn more about his work: sites.google.com/view/matthew...
🔗 www.ifo.de/en/cesifo/ne...

1 3

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · Jul 16

To read more, check out our working paper here: www.ifo.de/en/cesifo/pu...

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · Jul 16

These effects are largely absent in more male-dominant cultures. We posit that this heterogeneity occurs due to differences in women's bargaining power within the household around decisions related to fertility.

1

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · Jul 16

Moreover, exploiting cross-sectional variation in time exposed to FPE, we find that FPE led to greater female empowerment in several domains: Greater contraceptive use, decision-making power, higher labour force participation, higher rates of divorce and lower tolerance for IPV.

1

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · Jul 16

For children born after the introduction of FPE, we find higher rates of survival and school enrolment, consistent with a quantity-quality trade-off. But these effects are moderated by local gender norms, with effects on fertility and enrolment concentrated among more gender-equal cultures.

1

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · Jul 16

Specifically, we examine the introduction of FPE in sub-Saharan Africa using Demographic and Health Surveys from 17 countries. We develop a panel of women's fertility histories and use a within-ethnicity, across-country DiD to identify the causal effect of FPE, finding a 4% reduction in fertility.

1

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · Jul 16

Free Primary Education is widely seen as a tool to promote long-term growth, but in a new working paper (🚨),
@eleonoraguarnieri.bsky.social, Helmut Rainer and I show that the effects are more immediate and wide-reaching, with FPE leading to reduced fertility and greater female empowerment.

1 3 6

Reposted by Matthew Collins

John Cullinan @beta1hat.bsky.social · Jul 9

Cool event alert! Join us in Galway in September for a workshop on replication in economics and Ireland's very first replication games. Full details in Matthew’s thread below. Please repost/share widely.

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · Jul 7

Ireland's 1st replication games!

In collaboration with the @i4replication.bsky.social, and as part of the annual CERIS Workshop, we are hosting Ireland's first replication games in Galway on September 25-26th.

5 4

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · Jul 7

If you would like to present at the replication workshop, send us an email!

To sign up for the replication game: i4replication.org/games.html

1

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · Jul 7

On the 26th (Friday), we host the replication games. We are looking for junior and senior academic faculty, postdocs, PhD
students, and other researchers.

1 1

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · Jul 7

On the 25th (Thursday), we kick things off with a full-day workshop on the theme of replication in economics, with Derek Mikola as keynote speaker. We welcome submissions on past/ongoing replication work.

1

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · Jul 7

Ireland's 1st replication games!

In collaboration with the @i4replication.bsky.social, and as part of the annual CERIS Workshop, we are hosting Ireland's first replication games in Galway on September 25-26th.

1 3 11

Reposted by Matthew Collins

CESifo @cesifo.org · May 14

🔊 Great news! @collinsmatthew.bsky.social will join us as a guest researcher next week from May 19th to 23rd!

🧐 Check out his website for more info on his research in in applied microeconomics:
sites.google.com/view/matthew...
🔗 www.ifo.de/en/cesifo/gu...

1 5

Reposted by Matthew Collins

Emma Howard @howardemma.bsky.social · Feb 21

If you’re in Galway on March 10th or can travel there, come along to this #IWD2025 event!

Irish Society for Women in Economics (ISWE) @isweconomics.bsky.social · Feb 21

Our #IWD2025 event takes place in @universityofgalway.bsky.social on March 10th at 11am!

A panel discussion with panellists Prof. Helena Lenihan, Deputy Governor Vas Madouros & Prof John Mc Hale will be moderated by ISWE Chair @howardemma.bsky.social

Register: buytickets.at/irishsociety...

2

Reposted by Matthew Collins

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · Nov 28

We are hiring! The University of Galway is on the market for an Assistant Professor in economics.

The position is open to any field and is a permanent, tenured position.
(1/5)

1 5 11

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · Nov 28

Get in touch if you are interested in applying. The ad is posted at www.jobs.ac.uk/job/DKT516/l... and econjobmarket.org/positions/11... (account required to view)

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · Nov 28

Plus, you get to live in Galway!
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

1 1

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · Nov 28

The University was also named Times University of the Year for 2022: universityofgalway.ie/about-us/new...
(3/5)

1

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · Nov 28

You will join a vibrant and growing Economics department, with 25 faculty, 11 post-docs and ca. 30 PhD students.

Some of our recent pubs include AEJ: Applied, JPubE, J of Applied Econometrics, JET, JUE, JDE, J of Banking and Finance, JHE, JEBO, etc. etc.

(2/5)

1

Matthew Collins @collinsmatthew.bsky.social · Nov 28

We are hiring! The University of Galway is on the market for an Assistant Professor in economics.

The position is open to any field and is a permanent, tenured position.
(1/5)

1 5 11