Women's Contributions to the Cost of Marriage in Egypt: The Role of Education and Employment

Maia Sieverding, University of California, Berkeley
Asmaa Elbadawy, Population Council

The rising cost of marriage and delayed marriage in the Middle East has recently received a considerable amount of attention in both academic and policy circles. Relatively little is known, however, about how young women’s education and employment affect their contribution to marriage costs or age at marriage. To address this gap, we use recent data from Egypt to examine the relationships between women’s education, labor force participation and other labor market indicators and their and their families’ contributions to total marriage costs. We also examine the association between women’s labor force participation and marriage timing following school exit. We then consider the implications of these relationships for investment in women’s education and women’s commitment to the labor force.