Three essays on the economics of family ties

The thesis includes three chapters on the economics of family ties. In chapter 2, I examine the effect of kin ties beyond family—measured by cousin marriage rates—on institutional quality of societies—measured by corruption index. We show that higher cousin marriage rates are associated with higher corruption level. We also use historical measures and instrumental estimation method to provide some causal evidence. In chapter 3, we provide evidence from bribery experiments in three countries (Canada, Iran, and Ecuador) to show that strong family ties facilitate nepotistic relationships at the expense of strangers. In chapter 4, using individual-level data from the United States, I examine the effect of age at leaving parental home on future incomes. Late emancipation of young adults is considered as an important consequence of stronger family ties, with important economic implications for within- and across-countries. I show that late emancipation is associated with lower future incomes among American youths. Controlling for individual unobservables, the results suggest that the relationship might be causal.