RELATIVES IN RESIDENCE: RELATEDNESS OF HOUSEHOLD MEMBERS DRIVES SCHOOLING DIFFERENTIALS IN MOZAMBIQUE.

Children typically receive investments from their fathers, but absent fathers often invest at low levels. In fathers' absence, what types of non-fathers invest heavily in children? This paper investigates educational participation as a reflection of childhood investments on Ibo Island, Mozambique, where only one third of school-aged children live with their biological fathers. Father-present children generally attended school at the highest rates. Stepchildren and father-absent relatives (e.g. grandchildren, nieces) attended school at comparably high rates if any co-residing children were father-present. This may signal high altruism among present fathers toward some non-offspring. Consistent with this result, a fixed-effects model indicates that, within the same household, adult males invested equally in their own children, relatives, and stepchildren. However, prejudicially lower investments were made in children who were unrelated to the household's adult males; this result has strong negative implications for the wellbeing of African children who are fostered by non-relatives.