Effects of education and poverty on the prevalence of girl child marriage in India: A district-level analysis

Girl child marriage remains widespread in India despite implementation of several policies and programmes to eliminate the practice. This study examines the effects of girls' educational attainment and household poverty on the prevalence of female child marriage at the district level in India. Data are drawn from the 2015-16 National Family Health Survey. Multiple linear regression models were employed to assess the factors of girl child marriage. The results indicate that girls with no schooling and primary level of education are having higher probability of getting married at an early age. However, likelihood of girl child marriage starts declining with secondary level of education. Moreover, higher secondary and higher level of education significantly reduces the prevalence of girl child marriage. Similarly, moving from poorest households to richest households significantly decreases the probability of child marriage. The results suggest that increasing opportunities for girls' education and financial supports to the poor families could be effective strategies towards eliminating the practice of girl child marriage in India.