[Research Seminar] IFLAME: “Education and ethnic intermarriage: Evidence from higher education expansion in Indonesia” A. DI PAOLO – Universitat de Barcelona & AQR
Speaker: Antonio DI PAOLO
Universitat de Barcelona & AQR
Joint work with Khalifany ASH SHIDIQI – Universitas Muhammadiyah Yogyakarta
& Universitade de Barcelona
Date and Location – Thursday November 23rd 2023 from 13:00 to 14:20
in Paris campus (PR13) and on Zoom
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ABSTRACT
In this paper, we analyse the effect of educational attainments on ethnic intermarriages in Indonesia, a multi-ethnic emerging country. The empirical analysis is based on data from the Java Island obtained from the 2014 wave of the Indonesian Family Life Survey, combined with administrative data about the location and year of opening of Higher Education Institutions (HEI). In order to estimate causal effects, we exploit variation in exposure to HEI by birth year and district of residence and construct and use as Instrumental Variable the number of HEI located in a radius of 10 kilometres from the centroid of the district of residence at age 18. The analysis is carried out with at the individual level, with separate estimations for males and females. The results indicate that years of schooling, college attendance and completion positively affect the likelihood of exogamy, i.e. having a partner from a different ethnicity. The estimated coefficients are somewhat larger for females than for males, and all the robustness checks provide stable results. Additional analysis of heterogeneous effects reveals that the impact of schooling is higher for individuals who have ethnically-mixed parents, as well as for those belonging an ethnic minority relative to their place of residence at age 18. Overall, the results reported in this paper point out that the increase in educational attainments induced by the expansion of Higher Education contributes to the reduction of ethnic segregation.
