Estimating the time elapsed between ending a relationship and joining a matchmaking agency: Evidence from a French marriage bureau

Abstract

This paper uses data from a French marriage bureau to investigate a revised form of a model proposed by Quah [Indian Econ. J. 37(4) (1990) 74], estimating the time elapsed between the previous union and the subscription in the matchmaking agency, for divorced, widowed and some singles with a marital past, as a function of their own characteristics. The results show the effects of income, level of education, living in the countryside, investments from a previous union, the requirement level, physical appearance and the duration of the subscription, on the decision to use the services of the marriage bureau.