Abstract
In self-arranged marriages, individuals choose their partners themselves, whereas in arranged and jointly-arranged marriages the decision is taken by parents and kin or jointly with the couples. Although the majority of Indian marriages are arranged, among younger cohorts, self-arranged marriages are increasing. Using the IHDS 2011–2012 data, we adopt a multivariate multilevel approach to explore the association of self-arranged marriage with various socioeconomic, cultural, and regional factors. We find that the likelihood of self-arranged marriages increases with higher educated parents, especially parents-in-law; among higher and lower castes exhibiting a U-shaped association with caste hierarchy; and by living in less conservative regions. Findings imply that although marriage norms are transforming in India, it is not uniform, and sociocultural barriers are prevalent, thus, slowing down the pace.
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