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The Risk of Polygamy and Wives' Saving Behaviour

Author

Listed:
  • Marie Boltz

    (PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

  • Isabelle Chort

    (LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - IRD - Institut de Recherche pour le Développement - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

Abstract

In a polygamous society, all monogamous women are virtually at risk of polygamy. However,both the anthropological and economic literature are silent on the potential impact of therisk of polygamy on economic decisions of monogamous wives. We explore this issue forSenegal using individual panel data. We rst estimate a Cox model for the probability oftransition to polygamy. Second, we estimate the impact of the predicted risk of polygamyon monogamous wives' savings. We nd a positive impact of the risk of polygamy on femalesavings entrusted to formal or informal institutions, consistent with self-insurance strategies.

Suggested Citation

  • Marie Boltz & Isabelle Chort, 2015. "The Risk of Polygamy and Wives' Saving Behaviour," Post-Print hal-01515934, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-01515934
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://hal.science/hal-01515934v1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Philippe Devreyer & Abla Safir & Momar B. Sylla & Sylvie Lambert, 2008. "Pauvreté et Structure Familiale: Pourquoi une nouvelle enquête ?," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-00824780, HAL.
    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.
    3. Nava Ashraf, 2009. "Spousal Control and Intra-household Decision Making: An Experimental Study in the Philippines," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(4), pages 1245-1277, September.
    4. Dauphin, Anyck & Fortin, Bernard, 2001. "A test of collective rationality for multi-person households," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 71(2), pages 211-216, May.
    5. Lambert, Sylvie & Ravallion, Martin & van de Walle, Dominique, 2014. "Intergenerational mobility and interpersonal inequality in an African economy," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 327-344.
    6. 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.
    7. Juan Ramón de Laiglesia & Christian Morrisson, 2008. "Household Structures and Savings: Evidence from Household Surveys," OECD Development Centre Working Papers 267, OECD Publishing.
    8. Anyck Dauphin, 2013. "The Role of Polygyny in the Intrahousehold Efficiency of Agricultural Production in West Africa," Cahiers de recherche 1323, CIRPEE.
    9. repec:dau:papers:123456789/10922 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Fenske, James, 2015. "African polygamy: Past and present," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 58-73.
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    Citations

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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. 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).
    3. 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).
    4. Deschênes, Sarah & Dumas, Christelle & Lambert, Sylvie, 2020. "Household resources and individual strategies," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 135(C).
    5. Mostafa Zahirinia & Yaser Rastegar & Malihe Rahmanian, 2024. "From revenge to compromise: women’s strategies in the face of polygamy," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 58(4), pages 3905-3919, August.
    6. 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).
    7. 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

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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
    • 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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