Nuremberg Research Seminar in Economics on 21 May 2025, LG 0.423
You are invited to join the weekly Nuremberg Research Seminar in Economics on 21 May 2025, from 13.15 to 14.45 pm. The seminar will be held in room LG 0.423. Catherine Guirkinger (University Of Namur) will be talking about “Height, parental investments and marriage payments in sub-Saharan Africa”.
More information can be found here:
This paper examines the role of bride-price customs in influencing parental health investments in daughters relative to sons in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Unlike many regions where son preference shapes parental behavior, SSA displays limited gender bias in child survival and well-being. We hypothesize that the bride-price system—where grooms’ families pay marriage payments to brides’ families—provides parents with an economic incentive to invest more in daughters’ health, as improved health enhances marriage prospects and bride-price potential. Using cross-sectional data from demographic health surveys across SSA countries, we analyze height dimorphism (the height difference between men and women) as a proxy for childhood health investment and resource allocation. Our findings reveal that bride-price-practicing ethnic groups exhibit significantly lower height dimorphism, indicating more equitable resource allocation favoring girls. Further, we show that girls in bride-price groups are more buffered from the effects of adverse childhood shocks, especially during adolescence when marriage nears. These results are robust to controls for genetic and ethnic variables. This study contributes to literature on cultural determinants of gender-based resource allocation and demonstrates how traditional marital customs can counteract gender inequality in health investments, offering insights into the intersections between cultural institutions and child well-being.