I think the high rate of divorce in modern societies is what has incentivized parents to invest in their children's human capital while keeping economic assets for themselves as long and as much as possible. But as wealth becomes more important relative to salary in order to afford a nice place to live I expect this to be more and more r…
I think the high rate of divorce in modern societies is what has incentivized parents to invest in their children's human capital while keeping economic assets for themselves as long and as much as possible. But as wealth becomes more important relative to salary in order to afford a nice place to live I expect this to be more and more reflected in the mating market as well, and parents increasingly need to use dowries in a more traditional way to boost their offspring's value.
Interestingly, one of the functions of dowries among Indian Muslims and I think many Muslim communities nearby like Pakistan and Afghanistan and Iraq, is the money is specifically the wife's money. During the marriage she controls it and can use it as she pleases (at least hypothetically) and in case of divorce, she takes it back. I recently read an autobiography of a Kashmiri Muslim-American woman (who was actually left in a corner of the room to die as a newborn, until her grandfather rushed in and saved her by giving her to her mom, who was too weak after birth to get up and go get her), "Born With Wings," which talks about how her mother used her dowry money to purchase an almond grove and become a successful businesswoman.
Yes. Parents don't want to pay to a joint household that gets split in two without producing any grandchildren. One way to get around that problem is to wait until any grandchildren are produced. Something I suspect is already happening (grandma and grandpa help new parents buy bigger apartment). Many people divorce after having children. But then at least the supported non-relative will have a stake in a relative (or two or three).
I think the high rate of divorce in modern societies is what has incentivized parents to invest in their children's human capital while keeping economic assets for themselves as long and as much as possible. But as wealth becomes more important relative to salary in order to afford a nice place to live I expect this to be more and more reflected in the mating market as well, and parents increasingly need to use dowries in a more traditional way to boost their offspring's value.
Interestingly, one of the functions of dowries among Indian Muslims and I think many Muslim communities nearby like Pakistan and Afghanistan and Iraq, is the money is specifically the wife's money. During the marriage she controls it and can use it as she pleases (at least hypothetically) and in case of divorce, she takes it back. I recently read an autobiography of a Kashmiri Muslim-American woman (who was actually left in a corner of the room to die as a newborn, until her grandfather rushed in and saved her by giving her to her mom, who was too weak after birth to get up and go get her), "Born With Wings," which talks about how her mother used her dowry money to purchase an almond grove and become a successful businesswoman.
Yes. Parents don't want to pay to a joint household that gets split in two without producing any grandchildren. One way to get around that problem is to wait until any grandchildren are produced. Something I suspect is already happening (grandma and grandpa help new parents buy bigger apartment). Many people divorce after having children. But then at least the supported non-relative will have a stake in a relative (or two or three).