Congratulations to Amrit Amirapu and Zaki Wahhaj who have obtained a research grant from the UK Department of International Development’s EDI research programme to study peer effects in traditional marriage customs. In developing countries, where the state often has a weak capacity to enforce laws, social pressures and expectations can play an important role in hindering or accelerating behaviour proscribed by marriage laws. The project will build on an ongoing EDI project in Bangladesh to test these ideas, using an experimental design that exploits a recent change in child marriage laws. They are partnering in this research with the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur and the research firm Data Analysis and Technical Assistance in Bangladesh.
The image is taken from a psychological test designed to measure the impact of the new law on attitudes towards early marriage practices among men and women in rural Bangladesh.