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Cousin Marriage Is Not Choice: Muslim Marriage and Underdevelopment

Author

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  • Lena Edlund

Abstract

According to classical Muslim marriage law, a woman needs her guardian's (viz. father's) consent to marry. However, the resulting marriage payment, the mahr, is hers. This split bill may lie behind the high rates of consanguineous marriage in the Muslim world, where country estimates range from 20 to 60 percent. Cousin marriage can stem from a form of barter in which fathers contribute daughters to an extended family bridal pool against sons' right to draw from the same pool. In the resulting system, women are robbed of their mahr and sons marry by guarding their sisters' "honor" heeding clan elders.

Suggested Citation

  • Lena Edlund, 2018. "Cousin Marriage Is Not Choice: Muslim Marriage and Underdevelopment," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 108, pages 353-357, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:apandp:v:108:y:2018:p:353-57
    Note: DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20181084
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Alger, Ingela & Cox, Donald, 2020. "Evolution of the Family: Theory and Implications for Economics," TSE Working Papers 20-1139, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).
    2. Akbari, Mahsa & Bahrami-Rad, Duman & Kimbrough, Erik O., 2019. "Kinship, fractionalization and corruption," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 493-528.
    3. Akyol, Pelin & Mocan, Naci, 2020. "Education and Consanguineous Marriage," IZA Discussion Papers 13985, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Isabelle Chort & Rozenn Hotte & Karine Marazyan, 2021. "Income shocks, bride price and child marriage in Turkey," Working papers of Transitions Energétiques et Environnementales (TREE) hal-03258215, HAL.
    5. Sana Khalil, "undated". "Structures of constraint and women’s paid work in Pakistan," Review of Socio - Economic Perspectives 202186, Reviewsep.
    6. Jonathan F Schulz, 2022. "Kin Networks and Institutional Development," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(647), pages 2578-2613.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • O15 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Economic Development: Human Resources; Human Development; Income Distribution; Migration
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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