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On the Timing of Marriage, Cattle and Weather Shocks

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Author Info
Hans Hoogeveen (The World Bank, Washington)
Bas van der Klaauw () (Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, and CEPR)
Gijsbert van Lomwel (CentER Applied Research, Tilburg University)

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Abstract

In this paper we focus on the timing of marriages of women, whose marriages are associated with bride wealth payments, which are transfers from (the family of) the groom to the bride's family. Unmarried daughters could therefore be considered assets who, at times of need, can be cashed in. We investigate both theoretically and empirically to what extent the timing of a marriage of a daughter is affected by the economic conditions of the household from which she originates. We distinguish household specific wealth levels and two types of shocks: correlated (weather) shocks and idiosyncratic (wealth) shocks. We estimate a duration model using a unique panel survey of Zimbabwean smallholder farmers. The estimation results support the hypothesis that the timing of marriage is affected by household characteristics; girls from households that experienced a negative idiosyncratic (wealth) shock are more likely to marry.

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Paper provided by Tinbergen Institute in its series Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers with number 04-073/3.

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Date of creation: 02 Jul 2004
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Handle: RePEc:dgr:uvatin:20040073

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Related research
Keywords: coping strategies; bride wealth; duration models; wealth shocks; dynamic programming model;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
Q12 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Micro Analysis of Farm Firms, Farm Households, and Farm Input Markets
C4 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics
J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
D91 - Microeconomics - - Intertemporal Choice and Growth - - - Intertemporal Consumer Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving

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Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Fafchamps, Marcel & Udry, Christopher & Czukas, Katherine, 1998. "Drought and saving in West Africa: are livestock a buffer stock?," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 55(2), pages 273-305, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  2. Marleen Dekker & Hans Hoogeveen, 2002. "Bride Wealth and Household Security in Rural Zimbabwe," Journal of African Economies, Oxford University Press, vol. 11(1), pages 114-145, March.
  3. Keane, Michael P & Wolpin, Kenneth I, 1994. "The Solution and Estimation of Discrete Choice Dynamic Programming Models by Simulation and Interpolation: Monte Carlo Evidence," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 76(4), pages 648-72, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Carter, Michael R. & Zimmerman, Frederick J., 2000. "The dynamic cost and persistence of asset inequality in an agrarian economy," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 63(2), pages 265-302, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. MR Rosenzweig, 2001. "Savings behaviour in low-income countries," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 17(1), pages 40-54, Spring.
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