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The Economics of Marriage in North Africa

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  • Ragui Assaad
  • Caroline Krafft

Abstract

Marriage is the single most important economic transaction and social transition in the lives of young people. Yet little is known about the economics of marriage in much of the developing world. This paper examines the economics of marriage in North Africa, where asymmetric rights in marriage create incentives for extensive up-front bargaining and detailed marriage contracts.

Suggested Citation

  • Ragui Assaad & Caroline Krafft, 2014. "The Economics of Marriage in North Africa," WIDER Working Paper Series wp-2014-067, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER).
    • Handle: RePEc:unu:wpaper:wp-2014-067
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    File URL: https://www.wider.unu.edu/sites/default/files/wp2014-067.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    2. Becker, Gary S, 1974. "A Theory of Social Interactions," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(6), pages 1063-1093, Nov.-Dec..
    3. Ragui Assaad & Christine Binzel & May Gadallah, 2010. "Transitions To Employment And Marriage Among Young Men In Egypt," Middle East Development Journal (MEDJ), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 2(01), pages 39-88.
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    8. Ragui Assaad & Christine Binzel & May Gadallah, 2010. "Transitions to Employment and Marriage Among Young Men in Egypt," Middle East Development Journal, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 2(1), pages 39-88, January.
    9. Josh Angrist, 2002. "How Do Sex Ratios Affect Marriage and Labor Markets? Evidence from America's Second Generation," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 117(3), pages 997-1038.
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    11. Lones Smith, 2006. "The Marriage Model with Search Frictions," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 114(6), pages 1124-1146, December.
    12. Ragui Assaad & Caroline Krafft, 2013. "The Egypt labor market panel survey: introducing the 2012 round," IZA Journal of Labor & Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-30, December.
    13. Grossbard-Shechtman, Amyra, 1986. "Economic behavior, marriage and fertility : Two lessons from polygyny," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 7(4), pages 415-424, December.
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    15. Becker, Gary S, 1973. "A Theory of Marriage: Part I," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(4), pages 813-846, July-Aug..
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    Cited by:

    1. Anda DAVID & Audrey LENOEL, 2017. "International emigration and labour market outcomes of women staying behind: the case of Morocco," Working Paper f7f57256-7aaf-4dc5-9840-b, Agence française de développement.
    2. Ragui Assaad & Samir Ghazouani & Caroline Krafft, 2017. "Marriage, Fertility, and Women’s Agency in Tunisia," Working Papers 1157, Economic Research Forum, revised 11 2017.
    3. Anda David & Rana Hendy, 2016. "Does International Migration Help Them Marry earlier? A Hazard Model for the Case of Egypt," Working Papers 1051, Economic Research Forum, revised 09 Jan 2016.
    4. Ragui Assaad & Caroline Krafft & Shaimaa Yassin, 2018. "Comparing retrospective and panel data collection methods to assess labor market dynamics," IZA Journal of Migration and Development, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 8(1), pages 1-34, December.
    5. Bakadzi Moeti & Hildah L. Mokgolodi, 2017. "Indigenous Marital Therapy: A Case of Botswana," International Journal of Social Science Studies, Redfame publishing, vol. 5(11), pages 66-72, November.

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