The Kazakh Wedding: Conspicuous Consumption or Necessity?

Abstract

Why are people in Kazakhstan spending so much on weddings? Using signaling theory and the Handicap Principle, we examine how tradition (set of fixed beliefs), uyat (social shame), and trust (pre-marital familiarity) relate to high wedding spending. Based on logistic regression analysis of 146 survey responses across 16 regions, we find that pre-marital familiarity or trust, especially trust between family members, is the most consistent negative predictor of high wedding spending. While uyat and tradition appear to increase the likelihood of high wedding spending, their effects weaken or disappear once trust is included, suggesting that trust is the most relevant factor. Couples with low familiarity (e.g., from different cities or with little family connection) spend about 36% more than high-familiarity couples. Our findings highlight that trust offers a new perspective to the existing explanation: in Kazakhstan, extravagant weddings are costly signals to reduce information asymmetry between families, not just a result of financial illiteracy or cultural pressure.