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For Money Can’t Buy Me Love? The Political Economy of Marriages Over Two Decades in Tamil Nadu, South India

Author

Listed:
  • Isabelle Guérin

    (IRD, CESSMA (Paris, France), IFP (Pondicherry, India))

  • Arnaud Natal

    (BSE (University of Bordeaux, CNRS, and INRAE), French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP))

  • Christophe Jalil Nordman

    (IRD, UMR LEDa, DIAL, PSL, Université Paris Dauphine, IFP (Pondicherry, India))

  • Govindan Venkatasubramanian

    (IFP (Pondicherry, India))

Abstract

This article explores the multifaceted role of marriages in central Tamil Nadu, India. By drawing on twenty years of ethnographic surveys and three household surveys conducted in 2010, 2016-17, and 2020- 21, this paper examines how marriages are both shaped by and constitutive of local political economies. Our data suggest five main findings. Firstly, marriage has undergone significant changes, with fewer cross-cousin marriages and more dowry practices in exogamous unions. Families prefer to marry within similar social circles. Secondly, dowry, once a tradition, now serves to prevent further land fragmentation and symbolises wealth transfer, despite legal reforms aiming at gender equality paradoxically reinforcing dowry traditions. Thirdly, the dowry received by boys depends on the parents’ education expenditures, as if the bride’s parents are somehow sharing in the effort of education. Fourthly, the analysis of determinants of ceremonial gifts points to the same direction, suggesting participants’ solidarity with parents who invest in their children’s education. Lastly, our data reveal, among other things, the role of education in the marriage market, pushing some highly educated men into celibacy while waiting for the ideal partner.

Suggested Citation

  • Isabelle Guérin & Arnaud Natal & Christophe Jalil Nordman & Govindan Venkatasubramanian, 2024. "For Money Can’t Buy Me Love? The Political Economy of Marriages Over Two Decades in Tamil Nadu, South India," Working Papers DT/2024/07, DIAL (Développement, Institutions et Mondialisation).
    • Handle: RePEc:dia:wpaper:dt202407
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Hilger, Anne & Nordman, Christophe Jalil, 2020. "The Determinants of Trust: Evidence from Rural South India," IZA Discussion Papers 13150, IZA Network @ LISER.
    2. Nitya Rao, 2014. "Caste, Kinship, and Life Course: Rethinking Women's Work and Agency in Rural South India," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(3), pages 78-102, July.
    3. Christophe Z. Guilmoto, 2009. "The Sex Ratio Transition in Asia," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 35(3), pages 519-549, September.
    4. Mehrotra, Santosh & Parida, Jajati K., 2017. "Why is the Labour Force Participation of Women Declining in India?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 360-380.
    5. Isabelle Guérin & Govindan Venkatasubramanian & Santosh Kumar, 2020. "Rethinking saving: Indian ceremonial gifts as relational and reproductive saving," Journal of Cultural Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 13(4), pages 387-401, July.
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    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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