Bride Kidnapping and Gendered Labor Migration: Evidence from Kyrgyzstan.

ABSTRACT: Because the decision to migrate is a product of gendered negotiations within households, households formed through forced marriage may have different migration strategies than households formed through voluntary marriage. In Kyrgyzstan, we anticipate two possible effects of the traditional practice of bride kidnapping on migration. Households headed by a kidnap couple may be more cohesive and patriarchal, facilitating men's labor migration and remittance-sending. Alternately, women may use migration to escape such households. We test these two hypotheses using a sample of 1,171 households in rural Kyrgyzstan. Kidnap households are more likely to include women migrants, compared to other households. Kidnap households are also more likely to be receiving remittances, even when controlling fo

SUBMITTER: Hofmann ET 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9398185 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature