Announcement: New Working Paper from Gendered Perspectives on International Development, MSU

GenCen is pleased to announce the publication of GPID working paper #305:

Socio-economic Trends and the Rising Age of Marriage among Women in the Developing World:  Implications for Policy and Advocacy

by Julianne R. Weis

In the last decades, population surveys have demonstrated a consistent rise in the average age at first marriage among women across the developing world. This demographic shift has coincided with a global campaign against child marriage which often links marriage practices with rates of maternal death and disability in low-income countries. However, in examining socio-demographic indicators of both shifting marriage ages and maternal health more closely, it becomes clear that it is largely considerations of livelihood and economic well-being among communities that determine marriage age. Moreover, maternal health risks are experienced more generally among all women who live in poverty and have poor access to health infrastructures, regardless of their age at marriage. This paper will both explore these demographic and socio-economic trends more closely through an analysis of primary and secondary data sources, in addition to arguing for an expansion in campaigns which develop economic opportunities for young women.

http://gencen.isp.msu.edu/documents/Working_Papers/wp305.pdf

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Gendered Perspectives on International Development (GPID) Working Papers are free, article-length manuscripts by scholars from a broad range of disciplines that contribute new understandings of women’s and men’s roles and gender relations amidst economic, social, and political change. GPID cross-cuts disciplines, bringing together research, critical analyses, and proposals for change. Individual papers in the series address a range of topics, such as gender, violence, and human rights; gender and agriculture; reproductive health and healthcare; gender and social movements; masculinities and development; and the gendered division of labor. For information on manuscript submission, please direct inquiries to [log in to unmask]

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