Arranged marriage, co-residence and female schooling

In most parts of South Asia, patrilocal marriages and cultural norms indicate that the husband's family stands to retain a major part of any additional gain generated by an educated woman. This means that men are expected to have a strong incentive to prefer educated women as brides, especially given the significant returns to women's schooling. Parents of educated women should face lower dowry demands, and thus motivate them to educate daughters. However, the persistence of low levels of female education and available micro evidence on dowry payments both imply that such incentives are neither strong nor generalized. This chapter explores this apparent market failure by addressing the consequences of arranged marriage in India and discussing co-residence and female education.