The economics of marriage in North Africa

Arbeitspapier

Marriage is the single most important economic transaction and social transition in the lives of young people. Yet little is known about the economics of marriage in much of the developing world. This paper examines the economics of marriage in North Africa, where asymmetric rights in marriage create incentives for extensive up-front bargaining and detailed marriage contracts. As well as describing the limited literature on the economics of marriage in North Africa, this paper draws on economic theories of the marriage market and game-theoretic approaches to bargaining to propose a unifying framework for the economics of marriage in North Africa. New empirical evidence is presented on the economics of marriage in Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia, illustrating how individuals' characteristics and ability to pay shape bargaining power and marriage outcomes, including age at marriage, marriage, costs, consanguinity, and nuclear residence.

Object Details

• ISBN: 978-92-9230-788-2
• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: WIDER Working Paper ; No. 2014/067

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse ; Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination ; Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: Africa; Oceania ; Bargaining Theory; Matching Theory
• Subject: economics of marriage ; marriage market ; marriage contract ; bargaining ; North Africa ; age at marriage ; marriage costs ; consanguinity ; nuclear residence

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Assaad, Ragui ; Krafft, Caroline
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): The United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER)
• (where): Helsinki
• (when): 2014

Further information

• DOI: doi:10.35188/UNU-WIDER/2014/788-2
• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/97126
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:41 AM CET