The Effect of Parent Attitudes on Marriage Timing of Sons in Nepal

Elyse Jennings, University of Michigan
William G. Axinn, University of Michigan

There is ample evidence of the influence that parents have on their children’s outcomes in Western populations. This paper uses data from rural Nepal, where effects are expected to be stronger than in the West, to investigate the effect that parents’ attitudes have on the behavior of sons’ marriage timing. We take a unique approach in using data from both mothers and fathers to study sons’ behavior. Our attention to father effects and son outcomes are especially important in a setting like Nepal, where intergenerational transmissions are paternal in nature and men have more autonomy in their choice of behaviors than women. We use rich panel data spanning over a ten year period to study these intergenerational effects. Our preliminary analyses support social control hypotheses, rather than socialization hypotheses, and indicate differential effects of mothers’ and fathers’ attitudes on sons’ behaviors.