Date of Award
8-2026
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Economics
Committee Chair/Advisor
Dr. Jonathan M. Leganza
Committee Member
Dr. Curtis J. Simon
Committee Member
Dr. Devon Gorry
Committee Member
Dr. Robert K. Fleck
Abstract
This dissertation comprises three chapters that examine the effects of gender reforms on education and child marriage in India.
In Chapter 1, I estimate the causal effect of the Hindu Succession Act Amendment of 2005, which granted Hindu women equal inheritance rights to certain household assets, on their education. I use the National Family and Health Survey (NFHS-5) data from 2019–2021 and a difference-in- differences design that exploits variation across religions and women’s ages at the time of the reform. The reform increased the likelihood of completing Grade 12 by 7 percentage points for Hindu girls in rural areas. The effects are larger for girls who were 6 to 9 years old at the time of the reform, but smaller and statistically insignificant for those who were 15 to 19 years old at the time. In contrast, I find no evidence that the reform affected girls in urban areas.
In Chapter 2, I extend the analysis from Chapter 1 to examine the spillover effects of HSAA on men’s schooling outcomes. I find suggestive evidence of a positive impact on boys’ completion of higher levels of schooling in rural areas, especially of Grade 10. For Hindu men aged 4–17, lower secondary school completion rate increased by 8 percentage points in rural areas, a 16% increase from the counterfactual mean of 52%. I find no evidence of effects for men in urban areas, consistent with similar findings for women.
Chapter 3 examines post-independence trends in women’s marriage and education to assess the long-term effects of British-era reforms, particularly the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929. Using cohorts of women born between 1950 and 1980 who married before age 18, it analyzes age at marriage, early child marriage, and educational attainment. I find declines in extreme child marriage and lack of schooling, with larger gains among non-Hindu and urban women. Comparing Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, I find higher educational attainment but persistent child marriage in Madhya Pradesh, especially among Hindu and rural women.
Recommended Citation
Adhikari, Pratistha, "Essays on Gender Reforms, Education, and Child Marriage in India" (2026). All Dissertations. 4336.
https://open.clemson.edu/all_dissertations/4336