DP13567 Preferences and Beliefs in the Marriage Market for Young Brides

Author(s):	Abigail Adams-Prassl, Alison Andrew
Publication Date:	March 2019
Date Revised:	March 2019
Keyword(s):	early marriage, education, subjective expectations
JEL(s):	I26, J12, J16
Programme Areas:	Labour Economics, Development Economics
Link to this Page:	cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=13567

Rajasthani women typically leave school early and marry young. We develop a novel discrete choice methodology using hypothetical vignettes to elicit average parental preferences over a daughter's education and age of marriage, and subjective beliefs about the evolution of her marriage market prospects. We find parents have a strong preference for delaying a daughter's marriage until eighteen but no further. Conditional on a marriage match, parents place little intrinsic value on a daughter's education. However, they believe the probability of receiving a good marriage offer increases strongly with a daughter's education but deteriorates quickly with her age on leaving school.