The Brides of Boko Haram: Economic Shocks, Marriage Practices, and Insurgency in Nigeria
研究发现尼日利亚农村的彩礼和一夫多妻制导致婚姻不平等，促使年轻男性加入博科圣地等激进组织，经济冲击加剧了这一现象。
Abstract Marriage markets in rural Nigeria are characterised by bride price and polygamy. These customs may diminish marriage prospects for young men, causing them to join militant groups. Using an instrumental variables strategy, I find that marriage inequality increases civil conflict in the Boko Haram insurgency. To generate exogenous shocks to the marriage market, I exploit the fact that young women delay marriage in response to favourable pre-marital economic conditions, which increases marriage inequality primarily in polygamous villages. The same shocks that increase marriage inequality and extremist violence also lead women to marry fewer and richer husbands, generate higher average marriage expenditures, and increase insurgent abductions. The results shed light on the marriage market as an important driver of violent extremism.