We merged individual-level data from the 2004-2005 India Human Development Survey with district-level data derived from the 1991 and 2001 Indian population censuses to examine how the numerical supply of men to which married women were exposed during late adolescence is associated with women's agency in the mate selection process and the duration of courtships. Multilevel models that control for an array of both individual and contextual factors showed that exposure to a relative surplus of potential mates is associated with a higher likelihood that women will have little or no say in the selection of their husband and an increased probability that women will meet their husband for the first time on their wedding day. Women's educational attainment, birth cohort, religion, caste, and region of residence also emerged as significant correlates of women's marital agency and courtship duration. The implications of these findings for India's growing sex ratio imbalance are discussed.

中文翻译：

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印度的人口发展机会和伙伴选择过程。

我们将2004-2005年印度人类发展调查中的个人水平数据与1991年和2001年印度人口普查得出的地区水平数据进行了合并，以检验在青春期晚期已婚妇女所接触的男性人数与女性人数之间的关系。代理人在择偶过程和求爱时间上。控制一系列个人和背景因素的多层次模型表明，暴露于相对过量的潜在伴侣与妇女在选择丈夫时几乎没有发言权或没有发言权的可能性较高，以及妇女选择丈夫的可能性增加有关。在婚礼当天第一次见到丈夫。妇女的受教育程度，出生队列，宗教信仰，种姓，居住地也与妇女的婚姻代理和求爱时间长短密切相关。讨论了这些发现对印度日益严重的性别比例失衡的影响。