MARRIAGE MARKETS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
| dc.contributor.advisor | Chakraborty, Shankha | |
| dc.contributor.author | Dudhe, Pramod | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-08-07T22:06:23Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-08-07T22:06:23Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-08-07 | |
| dc.description.abstract | This dissertation studies, using the tools of dynamic macroeconomics, marriage markets in developing countries. The goal is to understand how the marriage market affects marital fertility, female labor supply and parents' human capital investment in girls. Chapter 1 provides the rationale for considering marriage markets in developing countries. It also presents an overview of the three research chapters. Chapter 2 develops an intergenerational model with gender bias in female education and dynamic marriage market. The model features skill-based positive assortative matching (PAM) and accounts for the gender-specific skill imbalance observed in developing countries. Within a household, spouses work in the labor market and decide about consumption, fertility and children’s education. We show how the equilibrium fertility distribution depends on different types of households that arise from marriage market matching and differences in fertility outcomes based on the quality-quantity tradeoff and parental skill levels. We estimate the model using Indian data, numerically derive the steady state and establish its local stability. Based on simulation results, the model does a good job of replicating the observed skill ratios. Chapter 3 builds on the model of chapter 2. The model is used to develop several policy-relevant results. An increase in marital sorting - as has been observed in India over time - worsens income inequality, and the gender bias in education and income. Elimination of gender bias as well as exogenous increases in returns to education and skilled-labor productivity contribute toward gender equality. Whereas gender-neutral subsidies are ineffective, the subsidies to poorer households aimed towards encouraging female higher education reduces the gender gap in education, labor supply and income. Dynamic policy analysis reveals that it takes 2 generations to reduce the gender gap in education by one-third. We conclude that gender-targeted policy can significantly weaken taste-based gender discrimination against female higher education. Chapter 4, joint work with Shankha Chakraborty, adapts the previous framework to better suit marriage markets in developing countries. A large percentage of marriages occur through family connections ("consensual arranged") that prioritize economic security and cultural values. Our framework captures the central tenet of these arranged marriages: parental decision to invest in girls' education is influenced by expectations of their marriage market outcome. We construct an intergenerational model with two-stage arranged-marriage market search model, which rationalizes parents' subjective gains from marrying off their offspring. The theoretical model is loosely calibrated to Indian data. Preliminary results indicate that there are significant returns to girls' education in the marriage market. In the future, we plan to extend the framework to identify the "social returns" of female education, considering its effect on marriage formation, marital fertility, labor supply and intergenerational education transmission. This dissertation includes previously unpublished coauthored material. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1794/29793 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | |
| dc.publisher | University of Oregon | |
| dc.rights | All Rights Reserved. | |
| dc.subject | Education policy | en_US |
| dc.subject | Fertility distribution | en_US |
| dc.subject | Gender bias | en_US |
| dc.subject | Marriage | en_US |
| dc.subject | Positive assortative matching | en_US |
| dc.subject | Skill | en_US |
| dc.title | MARRIAGE MARKETS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES | |
| dc.type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Department of Economics | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Oregon | |
| thesis.degree.level | doctoral | |
| thesis.degree.name | Ph.D. |
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