The effects of rainfall shocks on divorce requests: Evidence from Colonial Senegal
利用1906-1922年殖民时期塞内加尔原住民法庭记录，发现第三季度（主要作物生长季）的负降雨冲击导致次年离婚请求增加，原因在于家庭内部资源冲突加剧，且丈夫可能通过施压妻子离婚来收回彩礼。
This paper examines the impact of rainfall variations, as a proxy for agricultural income changes, on divorce requests in colonial Senegal , utilising judicial records from native courts during the period 1906–1922. A major finding is that negative precipitation shocks during the third quarter, which coincides with the growing season of the majority of crops cultivated in Senegal, result in an increase in the number of requests for divorce brought before courts in the following year. The impact appears to be concentrated in specific regions of Senegal and during a period when the agricultural income of farmers may be particularly susceptible to fluctuations in precipitation. The rise in marital dissolution can be attributed to an increase in intra-household conflicts over reduced resource allocation . In the context under consideration, the bride price frequently paid on the occasion of marriage may be viewed by husbands as a transferable asset which they may wish to recuperate by pressuring their wives into filing for divorce. This may serve to exacerbate the issue. This study contributes to the economic history literature by utilising unique colonial court records to document family dynamics in interaction with the economic environment.