If you want people to stop blowing their life savings on weddings, a neighborhood pact works way better than a government law.
In many cultures, expensive ceremonies drive families into debt, but top-down laws usually fail to stop the cycle. This study shows that when neighbors collectively agree to limit spending, they save more money because the social pressure to 'keep up' is removed.
Regulating Ceremonial Spending: Top-down or bottom-up?
SSRN · 6549857
Ceremonies are central to social life, yet the pressure to conform to community spending norms traps households in a collectively suboptimal equilibrium, imposing severe financial burdens. Using nationally and regionally representative longitudinal data from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan, we document that ceremonial expenditures are sizeable, display striking income inelasticities, and are strongly shaped by local spending norms, making celebrations disproportionately burdensome for poorer household