Will You Marry Me, Later?: Age-of-Marriage Laws and Child Marriage in Mexico

Cristina Bellés-Obrero and Maria Lombardi

Journal of Human Resources, 2023, vol. 58, issue 1, 221-259

Abstract: We examine the impact of raising the minimum age of marriage to 18 years old in Mexico. Using a difference-in-differences model that takes advantage of the staggered adoption of this reform across states, we find a large reduction in the number of registered child marriages. However, we find no effect on school attendance or early fertility rates. We provide evidence that this is driven by a substitution of formal marriage for informal unions. This suggests that when informal unions are a viable option for young couples, age-of-marriage reforms are not enough to prevent early unions and their negative consequences.

JEL-codes: I20 J12 J13 K36 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
Note: DOI: 10.3368/jhr.58.3.1219-10621R2
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Working Paper: Will You Marry Me, Later? Age-of-Marriage Laws and Child Marriage in Mexico (2020)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:58:y:2023:i:1:p:221-259

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