Social Norms and Aspirations : Age of Marriage and Education in Rural India

Using a unique dataset that I collected in three villages in semi-arid India, I analyze the role of perceived returns to education and social norms regarding the ideal age of marriage in the educational plans parents have for their children. I elicit from parents their perceptions of the returns to various levels of education and their educational aspirations for each child, as well as their perception of the "ideal age of marriage" for boys and girls. The aspirations data indicate that only 39% of the girls would be allowed to pursue higher education, compared to 71% of the boys, and that the socially acceptable age of marriage is perceived to be, on average, 18.3 years for girls and 22.7 years for boys. I show that perceptions of the ideal age of marriage significantly constrain the education that parents aspire to have for their daughters, but not their sons. Furthermore, perceived low returns do not appear to explain low educational aspirations for girls. Instead, aspirations are sensitive to returns in a specific way: I find that the returns to "higher" education are significant determinants of educational aspirations in the case of boys, whereas only the returns to "lower" education matter for educational aspirations in the case of girls