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Natural Shocks and Marriage Markets: Evolution of Mehr and Dowry in Muslim Marriages

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  • Chowdhury, Shyamal
  • Mallick, Debdulal
  • Chowdhury, Prabal Roy

Abstract

We examine how mehr, a conditional payment from husbands to wives in the event of divorce, and dowry, a transfer from bride families to grooms at the time of marriage, have evolved in Bangladesh through natural shocks. We develop a model of marriage market in which dowry acts as a groom price, whereas mehr serves to deter inefficient divorces. Our comparative statics results show that mehr and dowry are both increasing (decreasing) in shocks that raise (lower) income, and moreover, they change at the same rate. We then exploit several natural experiments in Bangladesh that include the Green Revolution around the 1960s, the Independence War in 1971 and the famine of 1974, to explain fluctuations in the value of mehr and dowry observed in Muslim marriages. Using two household survey datasets, we find support for our theoretical predictions. To rule out alternative explanations, in particular the effect of legal changes, we use household survey data from the Indian state of West Bengal that experienced a similar increase in agricultural productivity but none of the legal changes affecting Bangladesh. These results demonstrate that natural shocks may influence the evolution of social institutions.

Suggested Citation

  • Chowdhury, Shyamal & Mallick, Debdulal & Chowdhury, Prabal Roy, 2019. "Natural Shocks and Marriage Markets: Evolution of Mehr and Dowry in Muslim Marriages," Working Papers 2019-12, University of Sydney, School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:syd:wpaper:2019-12
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    1. Chowdhury, Shyamal & Mallick, Debdulal & Roy Chowdhury, Prabal, 2020. "Natural shocks and marriage markets: Fluctuations in mehr and dowry in Muslim marriages," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    2. Jane Lankes & Mary K. Shenk & Mary C. Towner & Nurul Alam, 2022. "Dowry Inflation: Perception or Reality?," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(4), pages 1641-1672, August.
    3. Youjin Hahn & Kanti Nuzhat & Hee-Seung Yang, 2018. "The effect of female education on marital matches and child health in Bangladesh," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 31(3), pages 915-936, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Mehr; Dowry; Natural Shocks; Bangladesh; West Bengal; Muslim Family Law.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products
    • Z12 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Religion

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