Family, Household & Gender Economics
Dowry and Bride Price: Marriage Payments Around the World
Why some societies involve large payments at marriage, what economists have learned about their causes and effects, and how laws have tried to limit them.
In many societies, marriages involve large payments between families. A dowry is a payment of money or goods from the bride’s family, often to the groom or his family. A bride price flows the other way, from the groom’s family to the bride’s family. Economists study these payments as prices in a marriage market shaped by custom, law and the roles women play in the economy.
Where they occur
Dowry has been common in South Asia, including India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and historically in parts of Europe. Bride price is common in much of sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Asia. Economists have noted that bride price tends to be more common where women do a large share of farm work, so their labour is highly valued by the family they join, while dowry has been associated with settled farming systems where women’s work outside the home was more limited.
Economic effects
Large dowries can place heavy financial burdens on families with daughters. Researchers in India have linked dowry costs to households’ preference for sons, which can contribute to sex-selective practices and to poorer investment in girls. Families may save for years or borrow at high interest to pay a dowry.
Bride price can have different effects. A study by Nava Ashraf and co-authors in Indonesia and Zambia found that in ethnic groups practising bride price, families tended to invest more in daughters’ education when school building increased, because educated daughters could bring higher bride price.
Laws and change
India banned dowry through the Dowry Prohibition Act of 1961. Enforcement has been difficult, and the practice continues in many communities, sometimes described as gifts. Rising female education and employment are seen by many researchers as important forces for change, since they change women’s economic position.
A farming family with two daughters might set aside savings for years, knowing that each daughter's marriage could require a large dowry. If the family has only limited savings, they may take out loans. This burden can shape decisions about how much to spend on the daughters' schooling today.
Marriage payments are deeply rooted in culture, but economic forces help explain where they appear and how large they are. Changes in women's education, work and legal rights can shift these customs over time.
- Dowry flows from the bride's family; bride price flows from the groom's family.
- These payments are linked to the economic roles women play in different societies.
- Large dowries burden families with daughters and are linked to son preference.
- India banned dowry in 1961, but enforcement is difficult and the practice continues.
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