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The Risk of Polygamy and Wives Saving Behavior

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  • Marie Boltz

    (Sciences Po - Sciences Po, PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École des Ponts ParisTech - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 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)

  • Isabelle Chort

    (PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, LEDa - Laboratoire d'Economie de Dauphine - Université Paris Dauphine-PSL - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, DIAL - Développement, institutions et analyses de long terme)

Abstract

In a polygamous society, all monogamous women are potentially at risk of polygamy. However, both the anthropological and economic literatures are silent on the potential impact of the risk of polygamy on economic decisions of monogamous wives. We explore this issue for Senegal using individual panel data. We first estimate a Cox model for the probability of transition to polygamy. Second, we estimate the impact of the predicted risk of polygamy on monogamous wives' savings. We find a positive impact of the risk of polygamy on female savings entrusted to formal or informal institutions, suggestive of self-protective strategies. This increase in savings comes at the cost of reduced consumption, both in terms of household food expenditures and wives' private non-food expenses.

Suggested Citation

  • Marie Boltz & Isabelle Chort, 2015. "The Risk of Polygamy and Wives Saving Behavior," SciencePo Working papers Main halshs-01183453, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:spmain:halshs-01183453
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-01183453
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    4. Jacoby, Hanan G, 1995. "The Economics of Polygyny in Sub-Saharan Africa: Female Productivity and the Demand for Wives in Cote d'Ivoire," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 103(5), pages 938-971, October.
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