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The Risk of Polygamy and Wives’ Saving Behavior

Author

Listed:
  • Marie Boltz

    (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PUJ - Pontificia Universidad Javeriana)

  • Isabelle Chort

    (CATT - Centre d'Analyse Théorique et de Traitement des données économiques - UPPA - Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour, IUF - Institut Universitaire de France - M.E.N.E.S.R. - Ministère de l'Education nationale, de l’Enseignement supérieur et de la Recherche, IZA - Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit - Institute of Labor Economics)

Abstract

In a polygamous society, all monogamous women are potentially at risk of polygamy. However, both the anthropological and economic literatures are silent on the potential impact of the risk of polygamy on economic decisions of monogamous wives. We explore this issue for Senegal using individual panel data. We first estimate a Cox model for the probability of transition to polygamy. Second, we estimate the impact of the predicted risk of polygamy on monogamous wives' savings. We find a positive impact of the risk of polygamy on female savings entrusted to formal or informal institutions suggestive of self-protective strategies. This increase in savings comes at the cost of reduced consumption, both in terms of household food expenditures and wives' private nonfood expenses.

Suggested Citation

  • Marie Boltz & Isabelle Chort, 2019. "The Risk of Polygamy and Wives’ Saving Behavior," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-02377010, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:cesptp:halshs-02377010
    DOI: 10.1093/wber/lhw054
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Libertad González & Berkay Özcan, 2013. "The Risk of Divorce and Household Saving Behavior," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 48(2), pages 404-434.
    2. Boltz, Marie & Marazyan, Karine & Villar, Paola, 2019. "Income hiding and informal redistribution: A lab-in-the-field experiment in Senegal," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C), pages 78-92.
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    Cited by:

    1. Pauline Rossi, 2019. "Strategic Choices in Polygamous Households: Theory and Evidence from Senegal," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 86(3), pages 1332-1370.
    2. Deschênes, Sarah & Dumas, Christelle & Lambert, Sylvie, 2020. "Household resources and individual strategies," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    3. Jean-Marie Baland & Roberta Ziparo, 2017. "Intra-household bargaining in poor countries," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-108, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    4. Elisabeth Cudeville & Charlotte Guénard & Anne-Sophie Robilliard, 2017. "Polygamy and female labour supply in Senegal," WIDER Working Paper Series 127, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    5. Elisabeth Cudeville & Charlotte Guénard & Anne-Sophie Robilliard, 2017. "Polygamy and female labour supply in Senegal," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2017-127, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    6. Jean-Marie Baland & Roberta Ziparo, 2017. "Intra-household bargaining in poor countries," WIDER Working Paper Series 108, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    survival analysis; Polygamy; savings; intra-household resource allocation; consumption;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • D14 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Saving; Personal Finance
    • O12 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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