Delaying Marriage, Delaying Adulthood

In a recent interview with the Middle East Youth Initiative, Dr. Diane Singerman explains how the exorbitant costs of marriage in Egypt are preventing many young people from fully transitioning to adulthood and achieving financial independence. Dr. Singerman explains why we should care about delayed marriage in the Middle East, and the impact of this phenomenon on a macroeconomic level.

Dr. Singerman is Associate Professor in the Department of Government at American University's School of Public Affairs and author of MEYI Working Paper: The Economic Imperatives of Marriage: Emerging Practices and Identities Among Youth in the Middle East. Read Dr. Singerman's full bio.

Listen to excerpts from the interview below:

Discovering the "marriage imperative" among families in Egypt (01:48)

Why marriage defines adulthood: implications of delayed marriage (01:44)

Unaffordable love: A breakdown of the costs of marriage (01:52)

Burdened by your own children? How parents are affected (02:18)