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Marriage Market Responses in the Wake of a Natural Disaster in India

Author

Listed:
  • Shreyasee Das

    (Department of Economics, Temple University)

  • Shatanjaya Dasgupta

    (Department of Economics, Beloit College)

Abstract

With increasing occurrences of natural disasters globally, there is a need to study their demographic effects both in the short- and long-run. In the backdrop of the 2001 Gujarat earthquake that resulted in over 20,000 casualties and large-scale loss of property, this paper analyzes marriage market responses in the event of a natural disaster. Using the 2004-05 round of the India Human Development Survey and employing a difference-in-differences strategy, we find a statistically significant reduction in women's marriage age, a lower probability of marital matches within the same villages, a decrease in spousal educational difference and probability of marrying a husband with more education, and an increased likelihood of women marrying into poorer households. Additionally, we discuss how our results could be affected by several channels and provide empirical evidence on changes in dowry payments as a potential mechanism.

Suggested Citation

  • Shreyasee Das & Shatanjaya Dasgupta, 2019. "Marriage Market Responses in the Wake of a Natural Disaster in India," DETU Working Papers 1902, Department of Economics, Temple University.
    • Handle: RePEc:tem:wpaper:1902
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Bansak, Cynthia & Pearlman, Sarah, 2021. "Endogamous Marriage among Immigrant Groups: The Impact of Deportations under Secure Communities," GLO Discussion Paper Series 756, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    2. Shreyasee Das & Shatanjaya Dasgupta, 2023. "Hidden costs of industrial disasters: Marriage market consequences of the Bhopal Gas Disaster," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 43(2), pages 813-829.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Marriage; India; Gujarat Earthquake;
    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
    • O53 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Asia including Middle East

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