Happy Ever After? The Marriage Market as a Source of Societal Instability

Abstract: There is a long-standing idea that societies with too many men, particularly young and single men - the so-called "bare branches" - have a tendency for vice, risk-taking and violence, ultimately threatening social order and stability. Marriage is an important marker for adulthood across the globe. Yet, participation in the marriage market - looking for a spouse and forming a union - in sub-Saharan Africa is constrained, and the marriage market is an important institution shaping and maintaining inequality in income and opportunities. Traditional marriage practices, such as that of polygyny, where one man is married to more than one woman at the same time, are still prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa and lead to a situation where some men, particularly the young, struggle to find a wife and start a family. Having more men than women in the marriage market gives rise to competition amongst men, spurring frustration and anger among those that struggle to find a bride. The imbalance betwe

Angaben zum Objekt

• Standort: Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Frankfurt am Main
• Umfang: Online-Ressource, 9 S.
• Sprache: Englisch
• Anmerkungen: Veröffentlichungsversion ; begutachtet

Verweise und Beziehungen

• Erschienen in: GIGA Focus Afrika ; Bd. 4

Beteiligte, Orts- und Zeitangaben

• Ereignis: Veröffentlichung
• (wo): Mannheim
• (wer): SSOAR, GESIS – Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften e.V.
• (wann): 2022
• Ereignis: Veröffentlichung
• (wo): Hamburg
• (wer): German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA)
• (wann): 2022
• Urheber: Hartwig, Renate
• Beteiligte Personen und Organisationen: German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) - Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien, Institut für Afrika-Studien

Weitere Informationen

• DOI: 10.57671/gfaf-22042
• URN: urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-80953-5
• Rechteinformation: Open Access; Der Zugriff auf das Objekt ist unbeschränkt möglich.
• Letzte Aktualisierung: 25.03.2025, 13:45 MEZ