Polygyny rates are higher in Western Africa than in Eastern Africa. The African slave trades explain this difference … abnormal sex ratios, which impacted the rates of polygyny across Africa. In order to assess these claims, we construct a unique … ethnicity-level data set linking current rates of polygyny with historical trade flow data from the African slave trades. Our …

how polygyny affects individual and aggregate fertility. We find that an attractive woman is more likely to find a high …-status husband. However, when polygyny is allowed, high-status husbands naturally attract other women; this implies that female … is not too strong. However, the societal practice of polygyny increases aggregate fertility through two distinct channels …