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THE ECONOMICS OF EXOGAMOUS MARRIAGE IN SMALL‐SCALE SOCIETIES
Author(s) -
Dow Gregory K.,
Reed Clyde G.,
Woodcock Simon
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
economic inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1465-7295
pISSN - 0095-2583
DOI - 10.1111/ecin.12321
Subject(s) - exogamy , endogamy , subsistence agriculture , economics , productivity , agriculture , geography , sociology , population , economic growth , demography , archaeology , anthropology
Marriage is a core institution in almost every human society, including small‐scale societies based on foraging or subsistence agriculture. A crucial dimension of the marriage systems in such societies involves endogamy and exogamy, that is, the choice of a marriage partner from within one's own community or from an outside community. We develop a model in which the exogamy rate is higher when good local matches are scarce due to small community sizes, and when productivity differs across communities due to environmental shocks. These theoretical predictions are supported by econometric analysis of data from the standard cross‐cultural sample. ( JEL D13, J11, N30, Z13)