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Marriage, dowry, and women's status in rural Punjab, Pakistan

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  • Makino, Momoe

Abstract

Dowry is a common custom observed in South Asian countries. It has been a target of an opposition movement because it is assumed to be a root cause of women's mistreatment, for example, in the form of sex-selective abortion, girls' malnutrition, female infanticide, and domestic homicide called "dowry murder." Despite its alleged evil consequences and the legal ban or restrictions on it, the custom has been extended, and recently, the dowry amount seems to be increasing. However, there is little empirical evidence of dowry's effects. This study empirically investigates the effects of dowry on women's status in rural Pakistan. We conducted a unique survey in rural Punjab, Pakistan, to explore the marriage practices there and to answer the research question. Results show that a higher dowry amount enhances women’s status in the marital household. This implies that an outright ban on dowries does not necessarily improve women's welfare at this time.

Suggested Citation

  • Makino, Momoe, 2015. "Marriage, dowry, and women's status in rural Punjab, Pakistan," IDE Discussion Papers 534, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    • Handle: RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper534
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    Cited by:

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    2. Siwan Anderson & Chris Bidner, 2021. "An Institutional Perspective on the Economics of the Family," Discussion Papers dp21-14, Department of Economics, Simon Fraser University.
    3. Cheema, Ahmed Raza & Coxhead, Ian, 2019. "“Gender Shock†and Household Labor Allocation: Dowry and Labor Migration in Pakistan," Staff Paper Series 593, University of Wisconsin, Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    4. Calvi, Rossella & Keskar, Ajinkya, 2021. "'Til Dowry Do Us Part: Bargaining and Violence in Indian Families," CEPR Discussion Papers 15696, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    5. Amr Ragab & Ayhab F. Saad, 2023. "The effects of a negative economic shock on male marriage in the West Bank," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 789-814, September.
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    7. Christoph Engel & Klaus Heine & Shaheen Naseer, 2021. "Religion and Tradition in Conflict Experimentally Testing the Power of Social Norms to Invalidate Religious Law," Discussion Paper Series of the Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods 2021_13, Max Planck Institute for Research on Collective Goods.
    8. Momoe Makino, 2021. "Female labour force participation and dowries in Pakistan," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(3), pages 569-593, April.
    9. Musaddiq, Tareena & Said, Farah, 2023. "Educate the girls: Long run effects of secondary schooling for girls in Pakistan," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 161(C).
    10. Rafi Amir-ud-Din & Hafiz Zahid Mahmood & Faisal Abbas & Verda Salman & Sameen Zafar, 2022. "Leaving studies because of lack of interest: an analysis of the risk factors of school dropouts in Pakistan," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 56(5), pages 3189-3214, October.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Pakistan; Women; Marriage; Social customs; Rural societies; Dowry; Intrahousehold decision making; Women’s status;
    All these keywords.

    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
    • N35 - Economic History - - Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy - - - Asia including Middle East
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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