Women in Nigeria get paid more if their family members have jobs

A new study finds that women in Nigeria earn more money and work longer hours if their family members are employed. This means that strong family connections, not just casual acquaintances, are key to women's economic success in this region.

For years, development programs have focused on building broad social networks for women, assuming that any connection helps. This paper suggests that not all connections are equal. It turns out, family ties with occupational diversity are far more important than weak ties with friends or acquaintances. This means aid money might be better spent on strengthening family economic ties rather than just creating new, loose networks.