Marriages in India are a universal phenomenon that continue to be characterized by  rigid social and cultural norms. 90% of marriages in India are family-arranged. Individuals have a strong preference for caste homogamy, women tend to marry more  educated men (educational hypergamy). Dowry payments are still quite common at the  time of marriage. Given these sticky norms, how would an unexpected disaster alter these unique features of the Indian marriage market?

Disasters, natural (such as floods, earthquakes), industrial (such as a chemical  leak) or a global pandemic (such as COVID-19), often come with little to no warning  with large-scale economic and demographic shocks to households, both temporarily and  permanently. Beyond the impact on economic livelihoods, studies have looked at  fertility responses, changes to human capital formation and other welfare outcomes due  to disasters. However, these events can also change social structures, including  marriages.

In this episode of BIC Talks, Instructional Assistant Professor at Temple University, Dr.Shreyasee Das talks about ‘How Disasters Can Shape Marriages’ that she conducted along with Shatanjaya Dasgupta and in this conversation with Finance and Markets Journalist Bansari Kamdar, explores relationships, their social and economics lives and the impact sudden and acute stressors like a natural disaster may have on them.

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