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Brothers, dowry, and spousal quality

Md Nazmul Ahsan & Urvashi Jain

Journal of Population Economics2026https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-026-01164-0article
AJG 3ABDC A*
Weight
0.50

Abstract

We study the effects of brothers-to-siblings ratio on spousal quality for Hindu women in India, a setting where families play a crucial role in spousal choice. We use three large household surveys and consistently find that women with a higher share of male siblings are married to a more-educated spouse. A similar positive impact is observed on other dimensions of spousal quality, such as spousal height and landownership. We investigate the potential mechanisms behind this effect. Brothers could affect a woman’s spousal quality through improving her own human capital formation, offering more time to search for a spouse, and increasing the family’s ability to pay dowry. Evidence from a rural household survey supports greater dowry payment but not any other mechanisms.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-026-01164-0

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@article{md2026,
  title        = {{Brothers, dowry, and spousal quality}},
  author       = {Md Nazmul Ahsan & Urvashi Jain},
  journal      = {Journal of Population Economics},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s00148-026-01164-0},
}

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Brothers, dowry, and spousal quality

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.