Pablo Álvarez Aragon
(UNamur)
will give a presentation on
Ancestral Beliefs and Fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa
Abstract: This paper contributes to the explanation of the puzzle of persistently high fertility in sub-Saharan Africa. I focus on the impact of a belief system that emphasizes the role of ancestors, who influence people's lives and have a strong interest in the continuation of their lineage into which they may be reincarnated. I combine first-hand data with original ethnographic information and both historical and contemporary surveys to show: 1) a strong, positive relationship between ancestral beliefs and fertility in different contexts and time periods that holds across ethnic groups, across individuals within countries, and across migrants who grew up in similar environments but whose beliefs in ancestral influence differ; and 2) that this relationship is specifically driven by the motive to continue one's lineage. To address this second point, I test the specific predictions of a simple model of fertility in which children are a public good for a family with ancestral beliefs because they continue the family line. However, whether one's children continue one's lineage depends on the kinship system: while this is the case in a patrilineal system, in a matrilineal system children continue the mother's lineage, but not the father's lineage. The model predicts that 1) ancestral beliefs have a stronger positive influence on fertility in patrilineal societies; and 2) in groups with ancestral beliefs, very specific free-riding behaviors emerge: in patrilineal societies, male fertility decreases with the number of brothers, while in matrilineal societies, female fertility decreases with the number of sisters (but not brothers). The predictions are supported by the data.