Income Shocks and Partnership Formation: Evidence from Malawi

Abstract

The ever-increasing prevalence of negative shocks experienced by poor, vulnerable households often induces extreme measures as ways to recover from the negative effects on income. Child marriage is one of the coping mechanisms households may use. This study examines whether young people in households that experience a negative shock are more likely to marry than those not experiencing a shock, and whether this effect differs by lineage system. I show that marrying off daughters is, in fact, a coping mechanism used by patrilineal households after experiencing a shock and that these effects are potentially strongest for young women who are already out of school. Conversely, I find no significant effect for young men. Additionally, I find suggestive evidence of an increased likelihood of young women engaging in transactional sexual relationships after a shock as an individual-level coping mechanism. Understanding the mechanisms leading to the increased incidence of these phenomena provides valuable information that can help combat such practices.

Projecting the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Child Marriage

“…It has been well documented that income shocks and poverty are related to child marriage risk [ 12 , [24] , [25] , [26] , [27] ]. The COVID-19 pandemic may affect household finances through loss of employment/income due to lockdowns as well as extended economic recessions or slowdowns.…”

Household Splitting Process and Food Security in Malawi

“…According to this tradition, poor and low-status families can exchange their daughters with rich men as collateral for a loan, money, or assets [25]. In addition to income transfer, the household that opts to marry off a daughter benefits from the household size reduction, with possible improvements in resource distribution within the family [26].…”

Economic shocks and risky sexual behaviours in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review of the literature

“…33 Molotsky (2019) refer to this sub-set as economic shocks, which I change to financial to avoid confusion.…”

“…51 For example Molotsky (2019) transactional sex from "multiple survey questions" and includes those who "reported ever receiving gifts or money from their partners" implying their data could have been analysed to measure the intensive margin also.…”

“…Tequame and Tenikue (2017) find a significant proportion of those engaging in transactional sex do so because of political unrest in Cote d'Ivoire 38 Molotsky (2019). finds numerous significant effects of varying shocks, but interestingly, not for agricultural shocks (which include drought).…”