i think it was more of an inheritance issue. women move away after marriage to hubby dearest's hut, and were given their share of ancestral property's worth as dowry.
as for today, dowry will always lurk around in societies where women have poor economic and/or social worth.
Yes, you are right about dowry being a socioeconomic issue. But contrary to the popular belief that dowry giving only takes place in the lower classes........the reality is that it's prevalent in all socioeconomic classes (low, middle, high).
It could also be that the inheritance of land given to daughters by their parents were a means of security and protection (in the even the daughter was divorced, or encountered financial problems in the marriage, or the husband became ill/died). It was something to fall back on. I've also heard/read that the practice of adapting husband's last name after marriage was a practice that originated in the West. And that this practice was also a means for the husband to get his hands on wife's inheritance. The belief was that "She has my last name. She belongs to my family and is like my property. So all that she is given now belongs to me."