This file is part of IDEAS, which uses RePEc data


[ Papers | Articles | Software | Books | Chapters | Authors | Institutions | JEL Classification | NEP reports | Search | New papers by email | Author registration | Rankings | Volunteers | FAQ | Blog | Help! ]

A Human Capital-Based Theory of Post-Marital Residence Rules

Author info | Abstract | Publisher info | Download info | Related research | Statistics
Author Info
Matthew J. Baker () (United States Naval Academy)
Joyce P. Jacobsen () (Wesleyan University)

Additional information is available for the following registered author(s):

Abstract

In pre-modern societies the residence of a newly-wedded couple is often decided by custom. While researchers have analyzed factors leading to particular post-marital residence patterns, no one has explained why a society should have a customary rule in the first place. Our theory stems from contracting problems created by the nature of pre-marriage human capital investments. We argue that a fixed post-marital residence rule may solve a hold-up problem by specifying marriage terms and limiting possibilities for renegotiation; the trade-off is the rule may prohibit beneficial renegotiation of post-marital location. We compare alternative residence rules (or lack thereof) under different degrees of location specificity of human capital and environmental uncertainty. We apply our theoretical results to Murdock's (1967) 862-society data set, augmented with climate data. We find some predictive ability in variables related to outside options, control over the environment, and potential degree of social control.

Download Info
To download:

If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. Information about this may be contained in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.

File URL: http://www.usna.edu/EconDept/RePEc/usn/wp/usnawp2.pdf
File Format: application/pdf
File Function:
Download Restriction: no

Publisher Info
Paper provided by United States Naval Academy Department of Economics in its series Departmental Working Papers with number 2.

Download reference. The following formats are available: HTML (with abstract), plain text (with abstract), BibTeX, RIS (EndNote, RefMan, ProCite), ReDIF
Length: 50 pages
Date of creation: Apr 2003
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:usn:usnawp:2

Contact details of provider:
Postal: 589 McNair Road, Annapolis, MD 21402-5030
Phone: (410) 293-6800
Fax: (410) 293-6899
Web page: http://www.usna.edu/EconDept/
More information through EDIRC

For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its listing, contact: ().

Related research
Keywords:

Other versions of this item:

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Rogerson, William P, 1992. "Contractual Solutions to the Hold-Up Problem," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 59(4), pages 777-93, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Rao, Vijayendra, 1993. "The Rising Price of Husbands: A Hedonic Analysis of Dowry Increases in Rural India," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(4), pages 666-77, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Georg Nöldeke & Klaus M. Schmidt, 1992. "Option Contracts and Renegotiation - A Solution to the Hold-Up Problem," Discussion Paper Serie A 417, University of Bonn, Germany, revised Aug 1993.
    Other versions:
  4. Hart, Oliver & Moore, John, 1990. "Property Rights and the Nature of the Firm," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(6), pages 1119-58, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Moore, John & Repullo, Rafael, 1988. "Subgame Perfect Implementation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 56(5), pages 1191-1220, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Matthew Baker & Thomas J. Miceli, 2000. "Land Inheritance Rules: Theory and Cross-Cultural Analysis," Working papers 2002-43, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics, revised May 2002. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  7. Greif, Avner, 1998. "Historical and Comparative Institutional Analysis," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(2), pages 80-84, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Maskin, Eric & Tirole, Jean, 1999. "Unforeseen Contingencies and Incomplete Contracts," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 66(1), pages 83-114, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Williamson, Oliver E, 1983. "Credible Commitments: Using Hostages to Support Exchange," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(4), pages 519-40, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Aghion, Philippe & Bolton, Patrick, 1992. "An Incomplete Contracts Approach to Financial Contracting," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 59(3), pages 473-94, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Grimard, Franque & Hamilton, Barton, 1999. "Estimating the elderly's returns on the farm: evidence from Cote d'Ivoire," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 58(2), pages 513-531, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Stodder James, 1995. "The Evolution of Complexity in Primitive Exchange: Empirical Tests," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 20(2), pages 190-210, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Matthew J. Baker & Joyce P. Jacobsen, 2003. "Marriage, Specialization, and the Gender Division of Labor," Departmental Working Papers 1, United States Naval Academy Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  14. Rosenzweig, Mark R & Stark, Oded, 1989. "Consumption Smoothing, Migration, and Marriage: Evidence from Rural India," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 97(4), pages 905-26, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  15. Yeon-Koo Che & Tai-Yeong Chung, 1999. "Contract Damages and Cooperative Investments," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 30(1), pages 84-105, Spring. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  16. Aghion, Philippe & Tirole, Jean, 1997. "Formal and Real Authority in Organizations," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 105(1), pages 1-29, February.
    Other versions:
  17. Michael Peters & Aloysius Siow, 2002. "Competing Premarital Investments," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 110(3), pages 592-608, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  18. Maristella Botticini & Aloysius Siow, 2003. "Why Dowries?," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(4), pages 1385-1398, September. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  19. Yeon-Koo Che & Donald B. Hausch, 1999. "Cooperative Investments and the Value of Contracting," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(1), pages 125-147, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  20. Grossman, Sanford J & Hart, Oliver D, 1986. "The Costs and Benefits of Ownership: A Theory of Vertical and Lateral Integration," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 94(4), pages 691-719, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  21. Konrad, K.A. & Lommerud, K.E., 2000. "The Bargaining Family Revisited," Norway; Department of Economics, University of Bergen 212, Department of Economics, University of Bergen.
    Other versions:
  22. Aghion, Philippe & Dewatripont, Mathias & Rey, Patrick, 1994. "Renegotiation Design with Unverifiable Information," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 62(2), pages 257-82, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  23. Anderson, C. Leigh & Swimmer, Eugene, 1997. "Some empirical evidence on property rights of first peoples," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 1-22, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  24. Matthew J. Baker, 2003. "An Equilibrium Conflict Model of Land Tenure in Hunter-Gatherer Societies," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(1), pages 124-173, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  25. Chung, Tai-Yeong, 1991. "Incomplete Contracts, Specific Investments, and Risk Sharing," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 58(5), pages 1031-42, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  26. Siwan Anderson, 2003. "Why Dowry Payments Declined with Modernization in Europe but Are Rising in India," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 111(2), pages 269-310, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  27. Greif, Avner, 1994. "Cultural Beliefs and the Organization of Society: A Historical and Theoretical Reflection on Collectivist and Individualist Societies," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 102(5), pages 912-50, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Matthew J. Baker, 2004. "Human Capital and Hold-ups in Indigenous Society: The Role of Customs and the Market," Departmental Working Papers 7, United States Naval Academy Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
Statistics
Access and download statistics

Did you know? Citation analysis on IDEAS includes online papers that are freely accessible and whose text could be automatically analyzed, currently about 210000 papers.

This page was last updated on 2009-11-5.

This information is provided to you by IDEAS at the Department of Economics, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Connecticut using RePEc data on a server sponsored by the Society for Economic Dynamics.