Bride kidnapping and informal governance institutions

Zachary Porreca

Contemporary Economic Policy, 2025, vol. 43, issue 2, 362-383

Abstract: Bride kidnapping, a forced marriage practice, has surged in post‐Soviet Kyrgyzstan alongside a revival of traditional values. The central government has empowered councils of elders, or aksakals, to handle local disputes based on cultural norms, including bride kidnapping. This study uses data from a national survey and a latent class nested logit model to examine how aksakal governance influences men's decisions to kidnap brides. Findings indicate that living under aksakal governance makes men 9% more likely to obtain a wife through bride capture, with men substituting kidnapping for choice marriage modalities such as elopement and standard love marriages.

Date: 2025
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https://doi.org/10.1111/coep.12672

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:bla:coecpo:v:43:y:2025:i:2:p:362-383

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