Partner choice in Sweden: How distance still matters

Abstract

Spatial homogamy, or the geographical closeness of life partners, has received little attention in recent decades. Theoretically, partners may be found anywhere in the world, as increases in educational participation, affluence, mobility and internet access have reduced the meaning of geographical distance in general. This paper examines whether geography still matters in the Swedish partner market, by examining distances between partners before co-residence over time. Register data are used to track the residential histories (1990–2008) of couples who married or had a child in 1996, 2002 or 2008 (N = 292,652). With the couple as the unit of analysis, the distance between partners before co-residence is explained by geographical, socio-economic and demographic indicators. I find that although the distance between partners has increased over time, it is still the case that half of all partners lived within 9 kilometres of each other before moving in together. Demographic and socio-economic characteristics explain some of the variation in spatial homogamy, but geographical factors, such as previous place of residence, spatial mobility, degree of urbanization and nearness of parents, are crucial. Even in a globalized society, most people still find their partners very close by. The findings are relevant to the family migration literature, where residential mobility at the beginning of co-residence has received little attention, despite long-lasting consequences of partner choice on social ties and people’s socioeconomic careers. The results exemplify the importance of short geographical distances for intimate relationships.