Saving for Dowry : Evidence from Rural India
The ancient custom of dowry, that is, bride-to-groom marriage payments, remains ubiquitous in many contemporary societies. This paper examines whether dowry impacted household decision making and resource allocation in rural India during 1986-2007....
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2020
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/419211603736772018/Saving-for-Dowry-Evidence-from-Rural-India http://hdl.handle.net/10986/34686 |
| Summary: | The ancient custom of dowry, that is,
bride-to-groom marriage payments, remains ubiquitous in many
contemporary societies. This paper examines whether dowry
impacted household decision making and resource allocation
in rural India during 1986-2007. Utilizing variation in
firstborn gender and dowry amounts across marriage markets,
the paper finds that the prospect of higher dowry payments
at the time of a daughter's marriage leads parents to
save more in advance. The higher savings are primarily
financed through increased paternal labor supply. This
implies that people are farsighted; they work and save more
today with payoff in the distant future. |
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