Purpose : The study aimed to examine the relationship between parents’ educational levels and income. Education is positively related to income — whether it is the case of a developed or developing country. Educational qualifications signal the acquisition of skills and knowledge, and those with low educational qualifications are limited to participating in the formal job market with higher income. The importance of education in determining income induced us to examine the relationship in the context of a matrilineal society of Meghalaya, taking parents’ profiles and annual household income as variables of interest.

Methodology : Along with the annual household income, significant variables pertaining to parents’ profiles were examined. The data were examined using binary logistic regression and descriptive statistics. Binary logistic regression uses the household’s attributes (a low-income household) as the dependent binary variable and the parents’ profile (age and education) as the independent binary variable. We conducted the analysis using SPSS for the study; a semi-structured questionnaire was used; 407 households were surveyed in Jowai and Shillong.

Findings : We found that low household income was associated with parents’ educational level. Mothers’ educational level strongly determined household income in the matrilineal society of Meghalaya. The effect was almost double that of the father. Furthermore, we found that as the mother’s age increased, there was less likelihood for a household to be at a low-income level.

Practical Implications : Skill development should be the primary focus of policymakers, particularly for mothers who are from poor households and have low education. Working mothers should be encouraged to pursue better career prospects through continuous adult education. Skill development aimed at mothers living in low-income households will give them the ability to improve their family’s economic situation, which will have a positive effect on human development in general.

Originality : The individual impact of parents’ education on household income in the context of a matrilineal society where the mother plays a significant role in the socio-economic dynamics of a household has not been taken into account in previous studies.

1. Abdullah, A., Doucouliagos, H., & Manning, E. (2015). Does education reduce income inequality? A meta-regression analysis. Journal of Economic Surveys, 29(2), 301–316. https://doi.org/10.1111/joes.12056
2. Andersen, S., Ertac, S., Gneezy, U., List, J. A., & Maximiano, S. (2013). Gender, competitiveness, and socialization at a young age: Evidence from a matrilineal and a patriarchal society. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 95(4), 1438–1443. https://doi.org/10.1162/REST_a_00312
3. Axford, N., & Berry, V. (2023). Money matters: Time for prevention and early intervention to address family economic circumstances. Journal of Prevention, 44, 267–276. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-022-00717-9
4. Baffour, P. T. (2015). Determinants of urban worker earnings in Ghana: The role of education. Modern Economy, 6(12), 1240–1252. https://doi.org/10.4236/me.2015.612117
5. Basumatary, R., & Das, M. (2018). Gender inequality in education and the reasons of its variation across Assam, India. Arthshastra Indian Journal of Economics & Research, 7(2), 21–37. https://doi.org/10.17010/aijer/2018/v7i2/125136
6. Blaug, M. (1972). The correlation between education and earnings: What does it signify? Higher Education Quarterly, 1(1), 53–76. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01956881
7. Bordoloi, R. (2014). Formulation and implementation of government policies and programmes with reference to Assam. Arthshastra Indian Journal of Economics & Research, 3(1), 40–47. https://doi.org/10.17010/aijer/2014/v3i1/55963
8. Bordoloi, R. (2015). Gender inequalities: A reflection on the Indian education system. Arthshastra Indian Journal of Economics & Research, 4(6), 34–42. https://doi.org/10.17010/aijer/2015/v4i6/84919
9. Comola, M., & de Mello, L. (2010). Educational attainment and selection into the labour market: The determinants of employment and earnings in Indonesia (Working Paper No. 2010 – 06). Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques. https://shs.hal.science/halshs-00564835
10. Contreras, D., de Mello, L., & Puentes, E. (2011). The determinants of labour force participation and employment in Chile. Applied Economics, 43(21), 2765–2776. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036840903373303
11. Das, P., & Dutta, S. (2016). Interrelation between mother's empowerment and children's schooling: A case study of SC, OBC, and General households of a developing region. Arthshastra Indian Journal of Economics & Research, 5(2), 39–50. https://doi.org/10.17010/aijer/2016/v5i2/92908
12. De, U. K., & Ghose, B. (2007). Status of women in the rural Khasi society of Meghalaya (MPRA Working Paper No. 6168). Munich Personal RePEc Archive. https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/6168/
13. Dol, J., Campbell-Yeo, M., Murphy, G. T., Aston, M., McMillan, D., Gahagan, J., & Richardson, B. (2019). Parent-targeted postnatal education interventions in low and middle-income countries: A scoping review and critical analysis. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 94, 60–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2019.03.011
14. Gneezy, U., Leonard, K. L., & List, J. A. (2009). Gender differences in competition: Evidence from a matrilineal and a patriarchal society. Econometrica, 77(5), 1637–1664. https://doi.org/10.3982/ECTA6690
15. Jolliffe, D. (2002). Whose education matters in the determination of household income? Evidence from a developing country. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 50(2), 287–312. https://doi.org/10.1086/322880
16. Kim, H. B., Choi, S., Kim, B., & Pop-Eleches, C. (2018). The role of education intervention in improving economic rationality. Science, 362(6410), 83–86. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aar6987
17. Klonner, S., Pal, S., & Schwieren, C. (2020). Equality of the sexes and gender differences in competition: Evidence from three traditional societies (Discussion Paper No. 675). University of Heidelberg. https://www.awi.uni-heidelberg.de/md/awi/forschung/dp_675.pdf
18. Kuznetsova, A. (2019). The impact of education on the income of the economically active population in the European Union. In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Education Science and Social Development (ESSD 2019) (pp. 603–609). Atlantis Press. https://doi.org/essd-19.2019.133
19. Lakshmanasamy, T. (2021). The differential effects of the determinants of household education expenditure in India: Quantile regression analysis. Arthshastra Indian Journal of Economics & Research, 10(1), 8–26. https://doi.org/10.17010/aijer/2021/v10i1/159883
20. Lugo-Gil, J., & Tamis-LeMonda, C. S. (2008). Family resources and parenting quality: Links to children's cognitive development across the first 3 years. Child Development, 79(4), 1065–1085. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01176.x
21. Majeed, M. T., & Malik, M. N. (2015). Determinants of household poverty: Empirical evidence from Pakistan. The Pakistan Development Review, 54(4), 701–717. https://www.jstor.org/stable/43831356
22. Mattison, S. M., Mattison, P. M., Beheim, B. A., Liu, R., Blumenfield, T., Sum, C.-Y., Shenk, M. K., Seabright, E., & Alami, S. (2023). Gender disparities in material and educational resources differ by kinship system. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, 378(1883), 20220299. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2022.0299
23. McMahon, W. W. (2009). Higher learning, greater good: The private and social benefits of higher education. JHU Press.
24. Niti Aayog. (2021). National Multidimensional Poverty Index: Baseline Report, based on NFHS-4 (2015-16). Press Bureau of India. https://www.niti.gov.in/sites/default/files/2021-11/National_MPI_India-11242021.pdf
25. Panda, S. (2015). Farmer education and household agricultural income in rural India. International Journal of Social Economics, 42(6), 514–529. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJSE-12-2013-0278
26. Park, K. H. (2017). Education, globalization, and income inequality in Asia. Asian Development Bank. https://hdl.handle.net/1813/87162
27. Rahman, M. A. (2013). Household characteristics and poverty: A logistic regression analysis. The Journal of Developing Areas, 47(1), 303–317. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23612271
28. Rani, G. P. (2014). Disparities in earnings and education in India. Cogent Economics & Finance, 2(1), Article ID 941510. https://doi.org/10.1080/23322039.2014.941510
29. Reserve Bank of India. (2022, November 24). Publications. https://m.rbi.org.in//Scripts/PublicationsView.aspx?id=20675
30. Sandstrom, H., & Huerta, S. (2013, September 18). The negative effects of instability on child development: A research synthesis. Urban Institute. https://www.urban.org/research/publication/negative-effects-instability-child-development-research-synthesis
31. Sawhill, I. V., & Karpilow, Q. (2013, July 1). Strategies for assisting low-income families. The Brooking Institution. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/strategies-for-assisting-low-income-families/?amp
32. Tripathi, S., & Yenneti, K. (2020). Measurement of multidimensional poverty in India: A state level analysis. Indian Journal of Human Development, 14(2), 247–274. https://doi.org/10.1177/0973703020944763
33. Turcinkova, J., & Stavkova, J. (2012). Does the attained level of education affect the income situation of the households? Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 55, 1036–1042. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.09.595
34. Van Vu, H. (2020). The impact of education on household income in rural Vietnam. International Journal of Financial Studies, 8(1), 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijfs8010011
35. Zaman, H., Narayan, A., & Kotikula, A. (2012). Are Bangladesh's recent gains in poverty reduction different from the past? The Bangladesh Development Studies, 35(1), 1–26. https://www.jstor.org/stable/41968782