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The male marital earnings premium in the context of bridewealth payments: Evidence from South Africa

Author

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  • Daniela Casale
  • Dorrit Posel

Abstract

This study explores the nature of the male marital earnings premium in the context of a developing country in which the payment of bride wealth is practiced. We use data from the South African Labor Force Survey of September 2004 and the Labor Force Survey Panel (2001-4), the first national panel available in South Africa. We show that a robust and positive premium to marriage in cross-sectional estimations is substantially reduced after controlling for individual fixed effects. Furthermore, we find evidence of an additional source of endogeneity created by the positive selection of men into marriage with faster earnings growth in the initial periods of the panel. Our results are to be expected if the payment of bride wealth or ilobolo, by a prospective husband to the bride's family, is a significant constraint to marriage among black men in South Africa. (c) 2010 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.
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Suggested Citation

  • Daniela Casale & Dorrit Posel, 2007. "The male marital earnings premium in the context of bridewealth payments: Evidence from South Africa," ERSA Working Paper Series 057, Economic Research Southern Africa.
    • Handle: RePEc:rza:ersawp:057
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    Cited by:

    1. is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Shing-Yi Wang, 2013. "Marriage Networks, Nepotism, and Labor Market Outcomes in China," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 5(3), pages 91-112, July.
    3. Haroon Bhorat & Sumayya Goga, 2012. "The Gender Wage Gap in the Post-apartheid South African Labour Market," Working Papers 12148, University of Cape Town, Development Policy Research Unit.
    4. Casale, Daniela & Posel, Dorrit, 2011. "English language proficiency and earnings in a developing country: The case of South Africa," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 385-393, August.
    5. Helen Duh & Sarah Benmoyal-Bouzaglo & George Moschis & Lilia Smaoui, 2015. "Examination of Young Adults’ Materialism in France and South Africa Using Two Life-Course Theoretical Perspectives," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 36(2), pages 251-262, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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