Marriage, bequest, and assortative matching in rural Ethiopia
Fafchamps, M.; Quisumbing, A.R.
Economic Development and Cultural Change 53(2): 347-380
2005
ISSN/ISBN: 0013-0079 DOI: 10.1086/425373Document Number: 265859
This paper examines patterns of marriage and parental transfers in rural Ethiopia, using data from the 1997 Ethiopian Rural Household Survey. First, the paper investigates the extent to which the socioeconomic characteristics of spouses are correlated. In particular, it examines the correlations between both parental and personal characteristics of husbands and wives at the time of marriage. Marriage in rural Ethiopia is found to be better characterized as an assortative matching process rather than as assignment driven by non-economic factors. The paper then investigates how rural society endows new couples with the assets they need to set up a farm and family: typically land and livestock, utensils, grains, and consumer durables such as clothing and jewellery. Also examined are the determinants of intergenerational transfers, both at marriage and through bequests. It is revealed that intergenerational transfers take place primarily at the time of marriage. This is particularly true for men, to whom most productive assets are bequeathed, whether at marriage or afterwards. The study also finds that the correlation between parental wealth and wealth at marriage is high, thereby suggesting relatively low intergenerational mobility. However, the correlation between assets at marriage and current assets is lower, indicating either that couples continue to accumulate assets over their married life, that bequests counteract some of their initial asset inequality at marriage, or that public redistribution policies have had an impact on current inequality.