A MARRIAGE TRICHOTOMY AND ITS APPLICATIONS

This paper promotes research methods specific to men, the new focus of fertility and family planning studies (especially in sub-Saharan Afri ca). I propose a novel marriage categorization based on married men's intentions to take another wife. The three marriage groups are current ly monogamous men who intend to remain so, currently monogamous men wh o intend to become polygynous, and currently polygynous men. The first analysis demonstrates that typical marriage analyses may misclassify men who intend to become polygynous. Applications of the marriage tric hotomy illustrate that men with varying marital intentions have differ ing desires regarding fertility and family planning.