The Relationship between Child Marriage and Female Educational Attainment in India

Khushi Duggal
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Khushi Duggal: University of Warwick

Warwick-Monash Economics Student Papers from Warwick Monash Economics Student Papers

Abstract: Child marriage remains a prevalent practice in many countries around the world and can detrimentally affect various life outcomes for young women and girls. Using data from the India Human Development Survey (IHDS-II), this paper explores the relationship between early marriage and the educational attainment of Indian women. The study uses age of menarche as an instrumental variable to isolate the causal effect of marriage timing, with results indicating that each additional year that marriage is delayed is associated with 0.32 additional years of schooling and a 1.9 percentage-point increase in literacy. The findings highlight the lack of regulation of current marriage laws and the need for stringent enforcement, rather than the Indian government’s current aims to increase the legal age of marriage for women further. In addition, this study also conducts heterogeneity analysis to determine the possible benefit of this policy recommendation across different residence types, as well as estimates the effect of marriage timing on secondary outcomes.

Keywords: Child marriage; Early marriage; Education; Schooling; India JEL classifications: I21; J12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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