Dower, Distance and Religious Identity (Job Market Paper)AbstractIn this paper, I build and provide the first analysis of a novel database on marriage contracts in Pakistan. The data was constructed using original administrative records that contain information on variables such as religious identity, the geographical distance between the bride and the groom’s family, and payments from the groom’s family to the bride- the dower. I find that a larger distance between families causes the dower payment to be higher, consistent with the hypothesis that families with lower familiarity require a higher payment in the marriage contract. Interestingly, I find that religious identity plays the most important role in determining the size of the dower. Here, religious identity mimics caste dynamics in other South Asian countries, where a certain religious identity is honoured higher above others. I further use the data to evaluate an interesting policy on marriage expenses and its effects on the dower. The policy established in 2003 in the city of Lahore attempts to restrict expenses on marriages by restricting food options and establishes curfew timings at marriage halls. A simple before and after estimator suggests that this policy has translated in increasing dower payments, yielding positive welfare implications for girls in marriages.
Barriers to entry, Electoral Candidates and Voter Turnout, coauthored with Sacha Kapoor and Arvind MagesanAbstract
Early marriage awareness: Do families respond?
Behavioural BlogsProfessional Women and Stereotypes: Moving Past Them. The Decision Lab. (2016)To Marry or Not to Marry. The Decision Lab. (2015)