The causal effect of maternal age at marriage on child wellbeing evidence from India.pdf (341.94 kB)
The causal effect of maternal age at marriage on child wellbeing: evidence from India
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-09, 05:07 authored by Amalavoyal ChariAmalavoyal Chari, Rachel Heath, Annemie MaertensAnnemie Maertens, Freeha FatimaWe use nationally representative household data from India to establish the intergenerational effect of early marriage on a broad set of health and educational investments and outcomes, and to explicate the underlying mechanisms. The empirical strategy utilizes variation in age at menarche to obtain exogenous variation in the age at marriage. We find that delayed marriage results in significantly better child health and educational outcomes. We further analyze a subsample of uneducated child brides to show that the age at marriage matters by itself, independently of its effects via the woman’s educational attainment and her marriage market outcome. From a household-decision-making perspective, the effects appear to be due (at least in part) to a reduction in desired and actual fertility as a result of later marriage, which may be associated with a quantity/quality tradeoff.
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Publication status
- Published
File Version
- Accepted version
Journal
Journal of Development EconomicsISSN
0304-3878Publisher
ElsevierExternal DOI
Volume
127Page range
42-55Department affiliated with
- Business and Management Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2017-02-09First Open Access (FOA) Date
2019-02-23First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2017-02-09Usage metrics
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