Working Paper: NBER ID: w22412
Authors: Charles Yuji Horioka; Akiko Teradahagiwara
Abstract: This paper estimates a household saving rate equation for India and Korea using long-term time series data for the 1975-2010 period, focusing in particular on the impact of the pre-marital sex ratio on the household saving rate. To summarize the main findings of the paper, it finds that the pre-marital sex (or gender) ratio (the ratio of males to females) has a significant impact on the household saving rate in both India and Korea, even after controlling for the usual suspects such as the aged and youth dependency ratios and income. It has a negative impact in India, where the bride’s side has to pay substantial dowries to the groom’s side at marriage, but a positive impact in Korea, where, as in China, the groom’s side has to bear a disproportionate share of marriage-related expenses including purchasing a house or condominium for the newlywed couple.
Keywords: Age Structure of the Population; Competitive Saving Motive; Dowries; Gender Ratio; Household Saving Rate; Life Cycle Hypothesis; Marriage Expenses; Premarital Sex Ratio; Population Control; Saving for Education; Saving for Marriage; Saving Rate; Sex Ratio; Son Preference; Wedding Expenses
JEL Codes: D12; D14; D91; E21; J11; J12; O16
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| premarital sex ratio (J12) | household saving rates (D14) |
| premarital sex ratio (J12) | household saving rates in India (D14) |
| premarital sex ratio (J12) | household saving rates in Korea (D14) |
| premarital sex ratio (J12) | trends in household saving rates (D14) |
| household saving rates in Korea (D14) | high saving rate in Korea (D14) |
| household saving rates in India (D14) | high saving rate in India (E21) |