Vietnamese Astrology's Influence on Marital Decisions and Social Welfare

Astrology and Matrimony: The Social Reinforcement of Religious Beliefs in Marriage Matching Practices in Vietnam

Abstract:

This study investigates the prevalence, pervasiveness, persistence, and resilience of a non-Big God religious belief system, which operates without formal institutions or moral prescriptions, thanks to its self-fulfilling mechanism. We delve into Vietnamese beliefs surrounding marriage fortunes through the traditional Taoist astrology system known as T? Vi. Initially, we estimate a structural model of assortative marriage matching and uncover that these beliefs play an important role in shaping marital decisions, accounting for 6.5 of the total impact of age and education profiles on matching preferences.

Subsequently, this research estimates how auspiciousness influences couples' outcomes while controlling for selection into marriage through our structural model's predictions. We find that couples deemed auspicious receive approximately 11 more social transfers from their exted families, and under challenging circumstances, the increase reaches up to 28. This phenomenon is due to the perception of these couples being more harmonious and lucky. Furthermore, these blessed unions enjoy higher levels of consumption, income, and other welfare indicators.

The study elucidates the long-term persistence and resilience of this belief system by linking it to its potential role as a commitment device among families. The social reinforcement mechanism ensures that once individuals embrace such beliefs, they are more likely to adhere to them, thereby influencing their matrimonial choices and reinforcing societal norms.

Keywords: Non-Big God Religion, Traditional Beliefs, Self-Fulfilling Prophecy, Marriage Market, Social Transfers, Social Insurance, Second-Order Belief, Commitment Device

Declaration of Interest:

The authors declare that they and their relatives have no relevant or material financial interests that relate to the research described in this paper.

Funder Statement:

Quoc-Anh Do acknowledges generous financial support from the Ford Center, Kellogg School of Management.

JEL Classification: Z12, J12, D64, G52, O15, D83, D16

Suggested Citation:

Ciscato, Edoardo and Do, Quoc-Anh and Nguyen, Kieu-Trang. Astrology and Matrimony: The Social Reinforcement of Religious Beliefs in Marriage Matching Practices in Vietnam, August 05, 2024.

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Acknowledgments:

The authors would like to thank list namesorganizations here for their invaluable contributions throughout the research process.

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