The Impact of Pre-marital Counseling on Economic and Psychosocial Wellbeing of Women: A Field Experiment in Indonesia

Women’s labor market aspirations and decisions are often shaped by their marital status and quality of their spouse and relationship. We study how a pre-marital counseling program in Indonesia impacts marital matching, female wellbeing within the marriage, and female labor force participation and occupational choice. In a country where the average age of marriage is declining, and the likelihood of exiting the labor market upon marriage is high, pre-marital counseling may be an effective means of setting expectations, better evaluating spousal fit, and developing the skills to communicate needs around family planning and work-life balance to make labor market participation more feasible for married women.