Marriage payments and wives' welfare: All you need is love

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Hotte, Rozenn; Lambert, Sylvie
• 署名单位: Paris School of Economics; INRAE
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103141
• 发表日期: 2023
• 关键词: Bride price; marriage; women; Senegal

摘要

Bride price is essential to marriage in West Africa, and its impact on wives' well-being in their marital life is a matter of debate. According to our data from Senegal, transfers to the bride's family characterize approximately 85% of marriages. Furthermore, although this is largely ignored in the literature, these marriages are also characterized by the simultaneous existence of other marriage payments, which flow in different 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 asks separate questions about the different 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.