This chapter reviews the literature on marriage in developing countries. We describe how marital matching occurs; the trends in age at marriage; assortative mating patterns; marriage payments; and spousal decision-making after a marriage has occurred. Lastly, we discuss trends and rationales for...

This chapter reviews the literature on marriage in developing countries. We describe how marital matching occurs; the trends in age at marriage; assortative mating patterns; marriage payments; and spousal decision-making after a marriage has occurred. Lastly, we discuss trends and rationales for...

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate if women’s exposure to mass media, i.e. television, radio, and print media, is a determinant of female empowerment in India. Indicators of empowerment include female autonomy in domestic decision-making, freedom of movement, financial...

This paper examines the impact of the 2001 Gujarat earthquake on age at marriage and other assortative matching outcomes. Using the 2004-05 wave of the India Human Development Survey and employing a difference-in-differences strategy, we document that the earthquake reduced the age at marriage...

Natural disasters are known to change social structures, however, very little is known about the effects of these unprecedented economic shocks on marriage markets. The 2001 Gujarat earthquake that resulted in 20,000 casualties and large-scale loss of property serves as a backdrop to understand...