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Can'T Buy Me Love? A Field Experiment Exploring The Trade‐Off Between Income And Caste‐Status In An Indian Matrimonial Market

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  • SUBHASISH DUGAR
  • HAIMANTI BHATTACHARYA
  • DAVID REILEY

Abstract

A large body of literature depicts that status‐based discrimination is pervasive, but is silent on how economic incentive interacts with such discrimination. This study addresses this question by designing a field experiment in a reputable arranged marriage market that is prone to strong caste‐status‐based discrimination. We place newspaper advertisements of potential grooms by systematically varying their caste and income and focus on responses of higher‐caste females to lower‐caste males. The substantive finding is that despite the evidence of discrimination, discriminatory behavior of higher‐status females decreases with an increase in the advertised monthly income of lower‐status males. (JEL C93, J12, J15)

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  • Subhasish Dugar & Haimanti Bhattacharya & David Reiley, 2012. "Can'T Buy Me Love? A Field Experiment Exploring The Trade‐Off Between Income And Caste‐Status In An Indian Matrimonial Market," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 50(2), pages 534-550, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecinqu:v:50:y:2012:i:2:p:534-550
    DOI: j.1465-7295.2011.00398.x
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    3. Quentin Lippmann & Khushboo Surana, 2022. "The Hierarchy of Partner Preferences," Discussion Papers 22/08, Department of Economics, University of York.
    4. Chiplunkar, Gaurav & Weaver, Jeffrey, 2023. "Marriage markets and the rise of dowry in India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    5. James C. Cox, 2012. "Private Goods, Public Goods, and Common Pools with Homo Reciprocans," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 79(1), pages 1-14, July.
    6. Soumya Balasubramanya & David Stifel & Muzna Alvi & Claudia Ringler, 2022. "The role of social identity in improving access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and health services: Evidence from Nepal," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 40(4), July.
    7. Abhijit Banerjee & Esther Duflo & Maitreesh Ghatak & Jeanne Lafortune, 2013. "Marry for What? Caste and Mate Selection in Modern India," American Economic Journal: Microeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(2), pages 33-72, May.
    8. Hortaçsu, Ali & Hwang, Sam Il Myoung & Mathur, Divya, 2019. "Monetary incentives on inter-caste marriages in India: Theory and evidence," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    9. Petra Persson, 2020. "Social Insurance and the Marriage Market," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(1), pages 252-300.
    10. Ray, Tridip & Roy Chaudhuri, Arka & Sahai, Komal, 2020. "Whose education matters? An analysis of inter caste marriages in India," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 619-633.
    11. Haimanti Bhattacharya & Subhasish Dugar, 2014. "Partnership Formation: The Role of Social Status," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(5), pages 1130-1147, May.
    12. Ong, David & Wang, Jue, 2015. "Income attraction: An online dating field experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 111(C), pages 13-22.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • C93 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Design of Experiments - - - Field Experiments
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination

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