Shackled to the Soil? Inherited Land, Birth Order, and Labor Mobility

Abstract

Studying land inheritance in rural India, this paper finds that while larger inheritances raise future household consumption on average, first-born sons do not share in these gains. Inheriting land reduces migration and entry into non-agricultural work for first-borns, consistent with cultural norms that place filial responsibility on the eldest son; later-born sons' occupational choices and migration are unaffected.