The Economics of Consanguineous Marriages

Quy-Toan Do, Sriya Iyer and Shareen Joshi
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Shareen Joshi: Georgetown University

The Review of Economics and Statistics, 2013, vol. 95, issue 3, 904-918

Abstract: This paper provides an economic rationale for the practice of consanguineous marriages observed in parts of the developing world. In a model of incomplete marriage markets, dowries are viewed as ex ante transfers made from the bride's family to the groom's family when the promise of ex post gifts and bequests is not credible. Consanguineous unions join families between whom ex ante pledges are enforceable ex post. The model predicts a negative relationship between consanguinity and dowries and higher bequests in consanguineous unions. An empirical analysis based on data from Bangladesh delivers results consistent with the model. © 2013 The President and Fellows of Harvard College and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Keywords: marriage; consanguinity; dowry; bequests; commitment (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J12 O15 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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Working Paper: The economics of consanguineous marriages (2006)
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