@article{fdi:010093520,
  title = {{F}or money can't buy me love ? {T}he political economy of marriages at the time of financialization},
  author = {{G}u{\'e}rin, {I}sabelle and {N}atal, {A}. and {N}ordman, {C}hristophe and {V}enkatasubramanian, {G}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{A}nthropology has long shown that kinship, marriage, and systems of production and accumulation are deeply intertwined. {I}n rural {T}amil {N}adu's increasingly financialized landscape, marriages function less as a means of wealth transfer and more as mechanisms of debt circulation. {D}rawing on two decades of ethnographic research and three waves of a quantitative household survey in rural {T}amil {N}adu, this paper examines how growing dependence on financial capitalism shapes marriage decisions - who marries whom, at what cost, with what consequences. {Q}uantitative analysis identifies broad trends and correlations, while ethnographic insights uncover the complex negotiations and trade-offs between families, linking individual and familial trajectories to the region's political economy. {W}hile dowries have become widespread, their financial impact varies: families of grooms often use them to reduce debt, whereas families of brides see their financial burdens grow. {W}eddings and dowries reflect and reinforce the devaluation of women, mirroring agricultural decline, land fragmentation, and the precarious yet rising investment in education amid labor force proletarianization. {R}ather than offsetting inequalities, ceremonial gifts function as a reverse redistribution mechanism, benefiting wealthier, higher-caste families, particularly those with sons or those investing in education. {U}ltimately, the dowry system subsidizes both an unstable job market and the financial industry.},
  keywords = {{D}owry ; debt ; ceremonial gifts ; celibacy ; {T}amil {N}adu ; {INDE} ; {TAMIL} {NADU}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{C}ontemporary {S}outh {A}sia},
  volume = {33},
  numero = {2},
  pages = {281--300},
  ISSN = {0958-4935},
  year = {2025},
  DOI = {10.1080/09584935.2025.2494605},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010093520},
}