The Cost of Child Marriage
Development experts have always measured the human costs of early marriage, but new data are shedding light on the practice's economic impact. As countries work to ban child marriage, advanced economies – led by the G7 – can help by financing programs proven to mitigate one of the most serious social ills developing countries face.
NEW YORK – The human costs of child marriage are well known; around the world, child brides are, on average, less educated, poorer, and more prone to sexual violence than women who marry later in life. But when the economic impact of child marriage is added to this grim tally, the bill is truly staggering.