Education and Income in a Matrilineal Society: A Household Level Analysis

It is widely accepted that with higher education comes higher
income and access to more options in the labour market. In India,
having low educational qualifications can mean inaccessibility to
jobs in the formal and corporate sectors. The literature is also
replete with studies linking the positive association of education
and income. The objective of the present study is to examine the
relationship between parental educational levels and household
income in the matrilineal society of Meghalaya. The results
indicate that the education of the parents is statistically significant
in determining the likelihood of being in a low household income
level. Mothers’ education is particularly larger in contributing to
the effects as compared to fathers’ education by almost 60%. The
age of the parents was found to be related (though weaker) to
being at a low household income level, with opposite effects for
the mother and father. The older the mother, the less likely it is
for a household to be at a low household income level, but the
opposite was true for the father. Policy-makers addressing the twin
issues of household poverty and human development can partner
with schools in identifying parents, especially mothers from low
household income levels who have low educational levels. Policy
intervention can aim at reskilling and re-educating mothers in the
relevant skill sets that can improve their human capital and access
to the labour market.