Education and Consanguineous Marriage

At least one of every five marriages is consanguineous (between couples who are second cousins or closer) in the Middle East and North Africa, and the rate is higher than 50% in some parts of the world. We find that a Turkish education reform that increased mandatory schooling by 3 years made women less likely to find consanguineous marriage an acceptable practice. The reform reduced women’s propensity to marry a first cousin or a blood relative, and it altered women’s preferences in favor of personal autonomy, indicating that educational attainment alters behaviors and attitudes that may be rooted in culture.