Roots of gender equality: the persistent effect of beguinages on attitudes toward women |
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Authors: | Frigo Annalisa Roca Fernández Èric |
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Institution: | 1.IRES/LIDAM, UCLouvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium ;2.CNRS, EHESS, Centrale Marseille, IRD, AMSE, Aix-Marseille Univ., Marseille, France ;3.CNRS, IRD, CERDI, Université Clermont Auvergne, F-63000, Clermont-Ferrand, France ; |
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Abstract: | This paper is concerned with the historical roots of gender equality. It proposes and empirically assesses a new determinant of gender equality: gender-specific outside options in the marriage market. In particular, enlarging women’s options besides marriage—even if only temporarily—increases their bargaining power with respect to men, leading to a persistent improvement in gender equality. We illustrate this mechanism focusing on Belgium, and relate gender-equality levels in the 19th century to the presence of medieval, female-only communities called beguinages that allowed women to remain single amidst a society that traditionally advocated marriage. Combining geo-referenced data on beguinal communities with 19th-century census data, we document that the presence of beguinages contributed to decrease the gender gap in literacy. The reduction is sizeable, amounting to a 12.3% drop in gender educational inequality. Further evidence of the beguinal legacy is provided leveraging alternative indicators of female agency. |
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