It has been argued that rising dowry payments are caused by population growth. According to that explanation, termed the "marriage squeeze," a population increase leads to an excess supply of brides since men marry younger women. As a result, dowry payments rise in order to clear the marriage...

In contrast to most dowry-oriented societies in which payments have declined with modernization, those in India have undergone significant inflation over the last five decades. This paper explains the difference between these two experiences by focusing on the role played by caste. The...