Final answer:
The bride's family loses economic liability when a dowry is provided, as the dowry is a transfer of wealth from the bride's family to the groom or marital household. The dowry serves to enhance the bride's status within her new family and can be passed down to her daughters.
Step-by-step explanation:
In the context of a dowry, it is typically the bride's family that loses economic liability since the dowry consists of material and financial assets transferred from the bride's family to the groom, or to the marital household. The dowry aims to provide the bride with wealth within her husband's lineage and can be used for status within the marriage or passed down to daughters. On the other hand, in situations where bride wealth (bride price) is involved, the groom’s family transfers wealth to the bride’s family, thereby incurring economic liability or respectful debt. Each of these marital economic transactions, whether dowry or bride wealth, can create complexities and conflicts within families and between lineages, especially in unilineal societies where the marriage compensates one lineage for the loss of a person and potential offspring.