Marriage, dowry, and women's status in rural Punjab, Pakistan

Momoe Makino

No 534, IDE Discussion Papers from Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO)

Abstract: Dowry is a common custom observed in South Asian countries. It has been a target of an opposition movement because it is assumed to be a root cause of women's mistreatment, for example, in the form of sex-selective abortion, girls' malnutrition, female infanticide, and domestic homicide called "dowry murder." Despite its alleged evil consequences and the legal ban or restrictions on it, the custom has been extended, and recently, the dowry amount seems to be increasing. However, there is little empirical evidence of dowry's effects. This study empirically investigates the effects of dowry on women's status in rural Pakistan. We conducted a unique survey in rural Punjab, Pakistan, to explore the marriage practices there and to answer the research question. Results show that a higher dowry amount enhances women’s status in the marital household. This implies that an outright ban on dowries does not necessarily improve women's welfare at this time.

Keywords: Pakistan; Women; Marriage; Social customs; Rural societies; Dowry; Intrahousehold decision making; Women’s status (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J12 J16 N35 Z13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015-09-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-hme
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Published in IDE Discussion Paper = IDE Discussion Paper, No. 534. 2015-09-01

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https://ir.ide.go.jp/record/37645/files/IDP000534_001.pdf First version, 2015 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: Marriage, dowry, and women’s status in rural Punjab, Pakistan (2019)
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