Public Disclosure Authorized WPS4126 - The World Bank.pdfVIP

d e z i r o h WPS4126 t u A e r u s o l c s i D c i l b Watta Satta: u P Bride Exchange and Women’s Welfare in Rural Pakistan d e z i r o h t u A e Hanan G. Jacoby and Ghazala Mansuri* r u s o l c s i D c i l b u P Abstract d In a setting where husbands wield considerable coercive power, forms of marriage should e z i adapt to protect the interests of women and their families. This paper studies the r o h pervasive marriage custom of watta satta in rural Pakistan, a bride exchange between t u A families coupled with a mutual threat of retaliation. We show that watta satta may be a e r mechanism to coordinate the actions of two sets of in-laws, each of whom wish to u s restrain their son-in-laws but who only have the ability to restrain their sons. Our o l c s empirical results support this view. The likelihood of marital inefficiency, as measured by i D c estrangement, domestic abuse, and wife’s mental health, is significantly lower in watta i l b satta arrangements as compared to conventional marriages, but only after properly u P accounting for selection. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 4126, February 2007 d e z i r The Policy Research Working Paper Series disseminates the findings of work in progress to encourage the o h exchange of ideas about development issues. An objective of the series is to get the findings out qu