In this public lecture, Joseph Vecci from Monash University explained the results of a recent co-authored paper on reef density and matrilineal inheritance in fishing communities in the Solomon Islands. He discussed how reef density is associated with the prevalence of matriliny, offering evidence from a sample of 186 societies across the world as well as a sample of 59 small-scale horticultural fishing communities in the Solomon Islands. In addition to this, he provided an explanation of why this relationship is thought to exist - an explanation based around the sexual division of labour and on inclusive fitness. The presentation also documented some of the demographic consequences of matrilineal inheritance, including smaller household and village population size.

Joseph Vecci is a PhD student in the Department of Economics, Monash University. His research interests include development and experimental economics. Specifically, he is conducting experiments to understand the effects of social norms on gender inequality in developed and developing countries. Joe has also worked as a consultant for the World Bank examining the impact of its rural development program in Solomon Islands.

This public lecture was presented by the Development Policy Centre at Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.