Dowry and wife's welfare: A theoretical and empirical analysis

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Zhang, JS; Chan, W
• 署名单位: Chinese University of Hong Kong; University of Hong Kong
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF POLITICAL ECONOMY
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0022-3808
• DOI: 10.1086/250079
• 发表日期: 1999
• 页码: 786-808
• 关键词: marriage; MODEL; specification; education; selection

摘要

Becker attributes the existence of marital transfers to inflexibility in the division of joint product within the marriage. If that were the only reason, we would not have observed the coexistence of dowries and bride-prices. This paper offers an alternative analysis. While Becker's interpretation is retained for bride-prices, a dowry is no iv represented as a premortem bequest by altruistic parents for a daughter. It not only increases the wealth of the new cor: household but also enhances the bargaining power of the bride in the allocation of output within that household, thereby safeguarding her welfare, Using micro data from Taiwan, we found that a dowry improves the bride's welfare whereas a bride-price has no effect. These empirical results support the theoretical predictions of the model.