Political role models, child marriage, and women's autonomy over marriage in India

Arbeitspapier

Drawing data from the India Human Development Survey 2011 and the year of the first election with reserved seats for women pradhans, I estimate the effect of the Panchayati Raj institutions on age and autonomy over marriage. Results indicate that women in local government decrease the likelihood of child marriage, and increase the age at first marriage and gauna. The effects seem to be driven by changes in gender and cultural norms, because there is a reduction in the prevalence of arranged marriages with minimum involvement of the bride. Overall results suggest a change in gender norms after 18 years of the implementation of reserved seats for women in local government.

Object Details

• ISBN: 978-92-9256-347-9
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: WIDER Working Paper ; No. 2017/121

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse ; Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination ; Microeconomic Analyses of Economic Development
• Subject: gender quotas ; age at marriage ; gender norms

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Castilla, Carolina
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER)
• (where): Helsinki
• (when): 2017

Further information

• DOI: doi:10.35188/UNU-WIDER/2017/347-9
• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/163091
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET