Why Dowry Payments Declined With Modernisation in Europe but are Rising in India

In contrast to most dowry oriented societies where payments have declined with modernisation, those in India have undergone significant inflation over the last five decades.This paper explains the difference between these two experiences by focusing on the role played by caste.The theoretical model contrasts caste and non-caste based societies: in the former, there exists an inherited component to status (caste) which is independent of wealth, while in the latter, wealth is the primary determinant of status.Modernisation is assumed to involve two components: increasing average wealth and increasing wealth dispersion within status (or caste) groups.The paper shows that, in caste-based societies, the increases in wealth dispersion which accompany modernisation necessarily lead to increases in dowry payments, whereas in non-caste case based societies, increased dispersion has no real effect on dowry payments and increasing average wealth causes the payments to decline.marriage;costs

Why the Marriage Squeeze Cannot Cause Dowry Inflation

It has been argued that rising dowry payments are caused by population growth.According to that explanation, termed the `marriage squeeze', a population increase leads to an excess supply of brides since men marry younger women.As a result, dowry payments rise in order to clear the marriage market.The explanation is essentially static; unmarried brides do not re-enter the marriage market.This paper demonstrates that the marriage squeeze argument cannot explain dowry inflation in a proper dynamic framework.In fact, when women, who do not find matches at the `desirable' marrying age, re-enter the marriage market as older brides, (as is the case in areas undergoing dowry inflation), the marriage squeeze argument is shown to imply dowry deflation.population dynamics;marriage;costs

The Economics of Dowry Payments in Pakistan

Although there are numerous studies of the dowry phenomenon in India, research pertaining to the custom in the rest of South Asia is sparse.The aim of this paper is to study dowry payments in Pakistan.Several interpretations for dowry are distinguished using a simple theoretical framework and the predictions of this model are tested using recent data from Pakistan.The investigation concludes that despite religious and cultural differences, the phenomenon of dowry in Pakistan appears to occur for reasons which are similar to those in India.That is, in rural areas it seems to be the more traditional pre-mortem inheritance, whereas in urban areas the payment has transformed into a groomprice.Dowry;Marriage;Gender;Household

The Economics of Roscas and Intra-Household Resource Allocation

This paper investigates individual motives to participate in rotating savings and credit associations (roscas).Detailed evidence from roscas in a Kenyan slum (Nairobi) suggests that most roscas are predominantly composed of women, particularly those living in a couple and earning an independent income. To explain this phenomenon, we propose an argument based on conflictual interactions within the household.Participation in a rosca is a strategy a wife employs to protect her savings against claims by her husband for immediate consumption.The empirical implications of the model are then tested using the data collected in Kenya.Rosca;Gender;Household

Why Dowry Payments Declined With Modernisation in Europe but are Rising in India

In contrast to most dowry oriented societies where payments have declined with modernisation, those in India have undergone significant inflation over the last five decades.This paper explains the difference between these two experiences by focusing on the role played by caste.The theoretical model contrasts caste and non-caste based societies: in the former, there exists an inherited component to status (caste) which is independent of wealth, while in the latter, wealth is the primary determinant of status.Modernisation is assumed to involve two components: increasing average wealth and increasing wealth dispersion within status (or caste) groups.The paper shows that, in caste-based societies, the increases in wealth dispersion which accompany modernisation necessarily lead to increases in dowry payments, whereas in non-caste case based societies, increased dispersion has no real effect on dowry payments and increasing average wealth causes the payments to decline.

Why the Marriage Squeeze Cannot Cause Dowry Inflation

It has been argued that rising dowry payments are caused by population growth.According to that explanation, termed the `marriage squeeze', a population increase leads to an excess supply of brides since men marry younger women.As a result, dowry payments rise in order to clear the marriage market.The explanation is essentially static; unmarried brides do not re-enter the marriage market.This paper demonstrates that the marriage squeeze argument cannot explain dowry inflation in a proper dynamic framework.In fact, when women, who do not find matches at the `desirable' marrying age, re-enter the marriage market as older brides, (as is the case in areas undergoing dowry inflation), the marriage squeeze argument is shown to imply dowry deflation.

The Economics of Dowry Payments in Pakistan

Although there are numerous studies of the dowry phenomenon in India, research pertaining to the custom in the rest of South Asia is sparse.The aim of this paper is to study dowry payments in Pakistan.Several interpretations for dowry are distinguished using a simple theoretical framework and the predictions of this model are tested using recent data from Pakistan.The investigation concludes that despite religious and cultural differences, the phenomenon of dowry in Pakistan appears to occur for reasons which are similar to those in India.That is, in rural areas it seems to be the more traditional pre-mortem inheritance, whereas in urban areas the payment has transformed into a groomprice.

Embedding of the Bosonic String into the W3W_3 String

We investigate new realisations of the $W_3$ algebra with arbitrary central charge, making use of the fact that this algebra can be linearised by the inclusion of a spin-1 current. We use the new realisations with $c=102$ and $c=100$ to build non-critical and critical $W_3$ BRST operators. Both of these can be converted by local canonical transformations into a BRST operator for the Virasoro string with $c=28-2$, together with a Kugo-Ojima topological term. Consequently, these new realisations provide embeddings of the Virasoro string into non-critical and critical $W_3$ strings.Comment: 11 pages. (Some referencing changes

The Economics of Roscas and Intra-Household Resource Allocation

This paper investigates individual motives to participate in rotating savings and credit associations (roscas).Detailed evidence from roscas in a Kenyan slum (Nairobi) suggests that most roscas are predominantly composed of women, particularly those living in a couple and earning an independent income. To explain this phenomenon, we propose an argument based on conflictual interactions within the household.Participation in a rosca is a strategy a wife employs to protect her savings against claims by her husband for immediate consumption.The empirical implications of the model are then tested using the data collected in Kenya

Fractionation and characterization of chromosomal proteins by the hydroxyapatite dissociation method

A method was developed which enables the characterization and fractionation of chromosomal proteins according to their chromatin binding properties. The method is based on the ability of hydroxyapatite to bind native chromatin in solutions which do not dissociate chromosomal proteins from the DNA. The proteins are then selectively dissociated from the immobilized chromatin by treatment with NaCl, urea, or guanidine HCl. The hydroxyapatite dissociation method represents a rapid one-step fractionation procedure which results in the quantitative recovery of chromosomal proteins devoid of nucleic acids and is suitable for large preparations. The hydroxyapatite dissociation method provides a versatile procedure for the study and preparation of chromosomal proteins. The patterns of dissociation of both histones and nonhistone chromosomal proteins by NaCl and urea from chicken oviduct chromatin were characterized by this method. In addition, this technique enabled the purification of the major histone species in a single operation. Partial purification of specific nonhistone proteins, including the estrogen receptor, was also achieved. We suggest that this method will be a useful tool in elucidation of the chemical and biological properties of the proteins from chromatin