Evaluating the impact of housing market liberalization on the timing of marriage: Evidence from Egypt

The transition to adulthood around the world is increasingly characterized by young people’s desire to form independent households. Forming such households in Egypt generally requires buying or building a dwelling or obtaining a rental unit. Policies governing housing markets, such as rent control, and limited financing options have historically made access to housing for young couples challenging. In this paper, we use a difference-in-difference approach to evaluate how the liberalization of rental markets in Egypt affected the timing of marriage. We find that Egypt’s 1996 rental reforms accelerated marriages and led to a reversal in the trend of rising age at marriage.