Missionary Influence on Marriage Practices: Evidence from the Livingstonia Mission in Malawi

By focusing on the unique setting of one Protestant mission (Livingstonia Mission) dating back to the late 19th century in Malawi, this study investigates the long-lasting missionary influence on female marital practices, based on individual-level data provided by the Malawi Demographic and Health Survey (2000, 2004 and 2010). Exploiting geographical distance to the influential mission station as a measure of exposure to the missionary influence, together with an abundance of historical, geographic and climate controls, this study finds that the mission encouraged females to postpone their first marriage, while discouraging their engagement in polygynous relationships. In addition, due to the missionary influence, females were also motivated to convert to Christianity as well as to attain academic skills. These findings suggest that Christian attitudes and values, along with the missionary educational investment, may play a role in explaining the missionary influence on marital practices.