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Preferences and beliefs in the marriage market for young brides

Author

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  • Abi Adams

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and University of Oxford)

  • Alison Andrew

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies and Institute for Fiscal Studies)

Abstract

Rajasthani women typically leave school early and marry young. We develop a novel discrete choice methodology using hypothetical vignettes to elicit average parental preferences over a daughter’s education and age of marriage, and subjective beliefs about the evolution of her marriage market prospects. We find parents have a strong preference for delaying a daughter’s marriage until eighteen but no further. Conditional on a marriage match, parents place little intrinsic value on a daughter’s education. However, they believe the probability of receiving a good marriage offer increases strongly with a daughter’s education but deteriorates quickly with her age on leaving school.

Suggested Citation

  • Abi Adams & Alison Andrew, 2019. "Preferences and beliefs in the marriage market for young brides," IFS Working Papers W19/05, Institute for Fiscal Studies.
    • Handle: RePEc:ifs:ifsewp:19/05
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    3. Bhalotra, Sonia & Delavande, Adeline & Font-Gilabert, Paulino & Maselko, Joanna, 2020. "Maternal investments in children: the role of expected effort and returns," ISER Working Paper Series 2020-03, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    4. Adams-Prassl, Abi & Boneva, Teodora & Golin, Marta & Rauh, Christopher, 2023. "Perceived returns to job search," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    5. Lisa Cameron & Diana Contreras Suarez & Susan Wieczkiewicz, 2023. "Child marriage: using the Indonesian family life survey to examine the lives of women and men who married at an early age," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 725-756, September.
    6. Bhalotra, Sonia & Delavande, Adeline & Font-Gilabert, Paulino & Maselko, Joanna, 2022. "Maternal Investments in Children : The Role of Expected Effort and Returns," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 637, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    7. Asiedu, Elizabeth & Azomahou, Théophile T. & Getachew, Yoseph & Yitbarek, Eleni, 2021. "Share the love: Parental bias, women empowerment and intergenerational mobility," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 846-867.
    8. 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.
    9. Augsburg, Britta & Baquero, Juan Pablo & Gautam, Sanghmitra & Rodriguez-Lesmes, Paul, 2021. "Sanitation and Marriage Markets in India: Evidence from the Total Sanitation Campaign," SocArXiv 58sdf, Center for Open Science.
    10. Bhalotra, Sonia & Delavande, Adeline & Font-Gilabert, Paulino & Maselko, Joanna, 2022. "Maternal Investments in Children : The Role of Expected Effort and Returns," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 1423, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
    11. Romauld Méango, 2023. "Identification of ex ante returns using elicited choice probabilities," Economics Series Working Papers 1007, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    12. Anisha Sharma & Garima Rastogi, 2020. "Unwanted daughters: The impact of a ban on sex-selection on the educational attainment of women," Working Papers 37, Ashoka University, Department of Economics.
    13. Romuald Meango, 2023. "Using Probabilistic Stated Preference Analyses to Understand Actual Choices," Papers 2307.13966, arXiv.org.
    14. Quentin Lippmann & Khushboo Surana, 2022. "The Hierarchy of Partner Preferences," Discussion Papers 22/08, Department of Economics, University of York.
    15. Augsburg, Britta & Baquero, Juan P. & Gautam, Sanghmitra & Rodriguez-Lesmes, Paul, 2023. "Sanitation and marriage markets in India: Evidence from the Total Sanitation Campaign," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    marriage markets; preferences;

    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
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education

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