Trends in educational assortative marriage in China from 1970 to 2000

Abstract

This research examines trends in educational assortative marriage in China among first marriages from 1970 to 2000 using data from the 2000 China Population Census and the 2001 Chinese Demographic Reproductive Health Survey. The results reveal decreasing educational homogamy rates from 1970 to 1980. However, the estimated odds of educational homogamy increase substantially between 1980 and 1995 and then grow at a slower pace in the late 1990s. Further, in urban areas, increasing rates of resemblance between spouses occur a decade earlier and at a higher level, compared to rural areas. Overall, the results indicate that senior high school graduates and college graduates in the late 1990s are less likely to marry those with less education than those in the 1970s in modern China.