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Marriage Payments and Wife's Welfare: All you need is love

Author

Listed:
  • Rozenn Hotte

    (THEMA - Théorie économique, modélisation et applications - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - CY - CY Cergy Paris Université)

  • Sylvie Lambert

    (PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, PJSE - Paris Jourdan Sciences Economiques - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement)

Abstract

Bride price is essential to marriage in West Africa, and its impact on wives' well-being in their marital life is debated. According to our data from Senegal, transfers to the family of the bride characterize approximately 85% of marriages. Furthermore, although this feature is largely ignored in the literature, those marriages are also characterized by the simulta- neous existence of other marriage payments, which ow in di_erent directions between the stakeholders. This paper studies the relationship between these multiple marriage payments and the well-being of the wife in her household. We use a unique survey that enquires separately about the di_erent types of marriage payments. We highlight the strength of the link between what is given to the bride herself and her welfare, as opposed to the looseness of the relation between this welfare and what is given to her family.

Suggested Citation

  • Rozenn Hotte & Sylvie Lambert, 2020. "Marriage Payments and Wife's Welfare: All you need is love," PSE Working Papers halshs-02611667, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:psewpa:halshs-02611667
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-02611667v2
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    Cited by:

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    3. Hugues Champeaux & Elsa Gautrain & Karine Marazyan, 2024. "Men’s premarital migration and marriage payments: Evidence from Indonesia," DeFiPP Working Papers 2402, University of Namur, Development Finance and Public Policies.
    4. Tapsoba, Augustin, 2021. "Polygyny and the Economic Determinants of Family Formation Outcomes in Sub-Saharan Africa," TSE Working Papers 21-1240, Toulouse School of Economics (TSE).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Senegal; Women; Bride-Price; Marriage; Bride Price;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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