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Female labor force participation and dowries in Pakistan

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  • Makino, Momoe

Abstract

Dowries are prevalent in South Asian countries, despite legal bans. Theoretical studies suggest that increasing women's financial contribution to households is the key to effectively abolishing this practice. To empirically examine this proposition, we conducted a unique survey in rural Pakistan, and gathered contemporaneous information about the expected amount of dowry for unmarried daughters. The estimation results show a negative association between female labor force participation and the expected amount of dowry, whereas no negative association is observed with other marriage expenses. These findings suggest that the negative association derives from appreciation of working women rather than their stigmatization.

Suggested Citation

  • Makino, Momoe, 2018. "Female labor force participation and dowries in Pakistan," IDE Discussion Papers 728, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    • Handle: RePEc:jet:dpaper:dpaper728
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    Cited by:

    1. Suresh Govindapuram & Samyukta Bhupatiraju & Rahul A. Sirohi, 2023. "Determinants of women's financial inclusion: Evidence from India," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(1), pages 131-158, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Dowry; Female labor force participation; Marriage market; Assortative matching; South Asia; Pakistan; Marriage; Women; Rural societies;
    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
    • J29 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Other
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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