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Individual vs. Parental Consent in Marriage: Implications for Intra-Household Resource Allocation and Growth

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  • Lagerlöf, Nils-Petter
  • Edlund, Lena

Abstract

Marrying individuals' consent has been requirement for marriage in Europe since the Middle Ages - in most of the rest of the world parental consent reigned until at least until the 1950s. This paper investigates the role of consent in marriage for intra-household allocation of resources and growth. We argue that a shift from parental to individual consent moves resources in the same direction, favouring young men and young women over old men. If young adults have greater incentives to invest in child human capital than the old (who will be around fewer periods), this may impact on growth. We formulate a simple endogenous growth model capturing these aspects.

Suggested Citation

  • Lagerlöf, Nils-Petter & Edlund, Lena, 2006. "Individual vs. Parental Consent in Marriage: Implications for Intra-Household Resource Allocation and Growth," CEPR Discussion Papers 5474, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpr:ceprdp:5474
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    1. repec:rre:publsh:v:38:y:2008:i:3:p:289-317 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Qijia Lyu & Linxiu Zhang, 2021. "Love Match, Marriage Distance, and Marriage Payment: Evidence from Rural China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(23), pages 1-19, November.
    3. David De La Croix & Fabio Mariani, 2015. "From Polygyny to Serial Monogamy: A Unified Theory of Marriage Institutions," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 82(2), pages 565-607.
    4. Alger, Ingela, 2015. "How many wives do men want? On the evolution of preferences over polygyny rates," TSE Working Papers 15-586, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE), revised Oct 2016.
    5. Luca Pensieroso & Alessandro Sommacal, 2019. "Agriculture to Industry: the End of Intergenerational Coresidence," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 34, pages 87-102, October.
    6. Lena Edlund, 2013. "The Role of Paternity Presumption and Custodial Rights for Understanding Marriage Patterns," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 80(320), pages 650-669, October.
    7. Manuel Santos Silva & Stephan Klasen, 2021. "Gender inequality as a barrier to economic growth: a review of the theoretical literature," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 581-614, September.
    8. Gould, Eric D. & Moav, Omer & Simhon, Avi, 2012. "Lifestyles of the rich and polygynous in Cote d’Ivoire," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 115(3), pages 404-407.
    9. Doux Baraka Kusinza & Catherine Guirkinger, 2024. "Cooperation in Polygamous Households. Experimental Evidence from Northern Benin," DeFiPP Working Papers 2403, University of Namur, Development Finance and Public Policies.
    10. Schultz, T. Paul, 2008. "Population Policies, Fertility, Women's Human Capital, and Child Quality," Handbook of Development Economics, in: T. Paul Schultz & John A. Strauss (ed.), Handbook of Development Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 52, pages 3249-3303, Elsevier.
    11. Tine De Moor & Jan Luiten Van Zanden, 2010. "Girl power: the European marriage pattern and labour markets in the North Sea region in the late medieval and early modern period1," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 63(1), pages 1-33, February.
    12. Evelyn Korn, 2008. "Zerstört der Sozialstaat die Familie?," Perspektiven der Wirtschaftspolitik, Verein für Socialpolitik, vol. 9(2), pages 156-172, May.
    13. M. Shahe Emran & Fenohasina Maret-Rakotondrazaka & Stephen C. Smith, 2014. "Education and Freedom of Choice: Evidence from Arranged Marriages in Vietnam," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(4), pages 481-501, April.
    14. Matthias Doepke & Michèle Tertilt & Alessandra Voena, 2012. "The Economics and Politics of Women's Rights," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 4(1), pages 339-372, July.
    15. Lena Edlund & Nils-Petter Lagerlöf, 2006. "Individual versus Parental Consent in Marriage: Implications for Intra-Household Resource Allocation and Growth," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(2), pages 304-307, May.
    16. Tom Vogl, 2012. "Marriage Institutions and Sibling Competition: Evidence from South Asia," NBER Working Papers 18319, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Nils-Petter Lagerlöf, 2008. "Pacifying monogamy: the mystery revisited," 2008 Meeting Papers 383, Society for Economic Dynamics.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Individual consent; Love marriage; Parental consent; Arranged marriage; Endogenous growth;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • O17 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Formal and Informal Sectors; Shadow Economy; Institutional Arrangements
    • O40 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - General

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