This research note discusses one underexplored aspect of the study of polygyny, namely, the extent to which the practice remains viable from a purely demographic standpoint. Using data from the United Nations World Population Prospects 2022 covering 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), I evaluate a simple indicator-gamma-for capturing the "demographic potential" of polygyny, that is, the fraction of men who can have two wives with no other man pushed out of the marriage market. I estimate how this indicator has evolved between 1950 and 2021 across regions of SSA and show how the measure correlates with polygyny estimates from available men's and women's Demographic and Health Surveys. Gamma shows inverted U-curve patterns aligned with stages of the demographic transition, from modestly low levels to high levels during periods of rapid population growth and then declining again. Recent declines are starkest in South SSA, while potential remains moderate elsewhere. Gamma correlates positively with polygyny estimates from Demographic and Health Surveys-particularly in Central and South SSA-and can explain up to 50‒70% variation in polygyny, albeit not everywhere. Findings primarily hold within regions, suggesting this is one of manifold factors at play. I conclude by outlining fruitful directions for the study of polygyny.

ABSTRACT This paper investigates the causal effects of China’s One-Child Policy on marriage market outcomes using nationally representative data. We employ a regression discontinuity – difference-in-differences approach that exploits birth-month discontinuities around policy implementation. Results show the policy generated a significant ‘marriage premium’ for women, who married more established partners with urban residency and higher occupational prestige. Men experienced no comparable advantages, revealing pronounced gender asymmetry. This reflects how the policy eliminated traditional son-preference in family investment, enabling daughters to receive concentrated resources that enhanced their marital prospects. Our findings demonstrate how demographic policies can reshape socioeconomic mobility through marriage markets.

Matchmaking and the Marriage Market in Postrevolutionary France. By Andrea Mansker

Abstract This article traces how and why the ‘competition’ of marriage culminated in the rise of the matrimonial advertisement across early twentieth-century India. It examines how the matrimonial, as a systematized textual schema, became a constitutive component of a reforming marriage market and integral to how the gendered body was imagined within transforming familial norms. The article draws on the extensive scholarship on labour and marriage in colonial Bengal to argue for the development of an ‘All-India’ middle-class marital marketplace as new forms of networking and work emerged. It does this by undertaking a cross-regional comparative analysis of matrimonials between 1915 and 1950 across urban India—alongside memoirs, colonial ethnographies, and periodicals—to extrapolate strategies of status-making and explore how discourses on conjugality ceded into legislative debates around customary law and property. The article begins by considering the placement and composition of matrimonials before delving into how matches were assessed, arguing that they expressed shifting marital norms, conjugal capital, and caste consolidation which led to the commodification of an expansive marital marketplace. It then examines debates around monetary marriage exchanges (like dowry) as a form of capital accumulation, disentangling how requests were articulated within the matrimonial advertisement through the complex textual grammars of signalling wealth.

This paper sets out to look at Jane Austen’s Persuasion through “crip temporality,” a disability studies idea that questions society’s belief that people must always be young, fast, productive, and moving forward. In a society that equates a woman’s value with youth and social visibility, Anne Elliot, the heroine, stands out as someone who is deemed older and past her expected moment of desirability, as though she no longer belongs in the marriage market. Austen, however, challenges this belief by presenting Anne’s gradual renewal, her resilient inner life, and her steady, reflective way of engaging with the world and those around her. The novel also illustrates what disability theorists call “crip afters,” the lingering emotional and bodily effects of past experiences—such as Anne’s eight years of regret—that continue to shape how characters move through time and imagine their futures. The novel’s other characters – Mrs Smith, Captain Benwick and Captain Wentworth- also challenge the usual ideas of how people are expected to move through time. Together, their lives show how anyone who does not heal or move forward at the expected pace of a healthy, able-bodied person is often pushed aside or overlooked.This way of reading the novel reveals that Persuasion is not just an adult love story, but a work that thoughtfully engages with ideas about disability, time, ethics, and emotion — making it meaningful to today’s discussions in disability studies.

Abstract This paper examines how sex ratios affect household commercial pension demand in a patrilocal society. Exploiting the cross‐county variations in sex ratios, we estimate the sex‐ratio effects on parental pension decision‐making in the first‐son families relative to the first‐daughter ones. We find that a one‐standard‐deviation increase in the local sex ratio would decrease commercial pension take‐up by 1.08 percentage points, or 51.6 percent, for parents with a firstborn son compared with those with a firstborn daughter. We also observe similar patterns in the premium contribution of commercial pensions. Mechanism analyses suggest that the pension disparity by the first child's gender is attributed to external financial support and intensive competition caused by oversupplied men in the marriage market.

We document that women’s economic mobility improved nearly a century before married women gained broad labor market opportunities. Using Massachusetts marriage registers linked to U.S. censuses (1850–1920), we create new father–child links for women to estimate intergenerational mobility and assortative mating, overcoming a key historical linkage barrier. Estimates from a structural marriage market model suggest assortative mating fell 61% from 1850–1870 to 1900–1920. Counterfactuals imply women’s mobility would have been far lower absent the decline in assortative mating. Had late cohorts faced early cohort sorting, the rank–rank slope between a woman’s father and husband would have been 2.5 times higher.<br><br>Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at <a href="http://www.nber.org/papers/w34821" TARGET="_blank">www.nber.org</a>.<br>

ABSTRACT China is experiencing a decline in marriage and birth rates. However, there is a notable absence of comprehensive research on migrant workers’ marital behaviors, especially with a focus on gender differences. Using survey data collected in 2020, this study sheds light on the interplay among gender, migration distance, and spousal preferences. Key findings reveal that compared with male migrant workers, females in China tend to favor finding spouses in their destination cities. As the migration distance expands, female migrants’ willingness to marry locals diminishes more than that of their male counterparts. Moreover, the study reveals that both male and female migrant workers who own homes in their destination cities find it easier to marry locals. However, the effect of homeownership does not significantly differ between genders, contrary to traditional expectations that men benefit more from property ownership in the marriage market. These results contribute to the broader understanding of marriage behaviors in the context of migration and urbanization in China, challenging established gender norms. Through this, it offers a fresh spatial dimension to gender studies, enriching the existing migration literature.

Many studies demonstrated protective effects of marriage on health, but studies on the reverse pathway are more limited and provided mixed findings. Using large-scale data from annual longitudinal panel surveys, the current article estimates discrete-time event-history models to analyze how self-rated health affects transitions in and out of marriage and cohabitation. Harmonized panel data are used for Australia, Germany, (South) Korea, Russia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The study finds adverse effects of poor self-rated health on all transitions: union formation, marriage formation, separation, divorce, and repartnering. Effects were smaller for the formation than for the dissolution of unions and smaller for the transition to cohabitation than to marriage. Few gender differences were found, but health effects on union dissolution declined with age. With exceptions, the impact of health was strikingly similar across the six countries. In general, the findings suggest an accumulation of health-related inequalities in the marriage market.

ABSTRACT In Iran, childbearing is confined to marriage with a unique pattern of long interbirth intervals. This paper explores the influence of marriage on fertility trends within the context of the recent pronatalist policy introduced by the government to promote marriage and childbearing. We determine that Iran’s pronatalist policy has overlooked the implications of recent fertility trends and the imbalance in the marriage market which led to a marriage boom suggesting a mismatch between policy goals and demographic realities. Beyond this, the 2019 economic downturn is a reason for the recent fall in fertility. The recent increase in number of marriages is attributed to marriage loans provided to young couples. However, paradoxically, these loans have led to delayed first births, counteracting the intended effects. We conclude that the incentives included in the 2021 Population Law are not closely aligned with the social values and aspirations of the young generation.

Abstract: This article discusses the history of the world's oldest profession, prostitution, and its official establishment in Athens in the 5th century to address urgent socio-economic issues. Without even meaning to, prostitution became part of the legal and political sphere. Greek marriage legislation encouraged its institutionalisation: prostitution was established in Greece under Solon to restore social order and the marriage market, and to prevent abuses (rape of free women, early marriages and pregnancies, etc.). The official establishment of brothels and houses of ill repute housing slave women and foreign women of easy virtue made it possible to satisfy the libido or sexual appetite of young citizens and men of marriageable age and helped to guarantee the chastity or virginity of free girls by prohibiting any sexual relations before marriage. However, this same legislation only concerns female prostitution and punishes male prostitutes with atimia. Through this literary and historical study, it is truly the history of gender that is addressed. Mots-clés : Prostitution, Économie, Société, Esclaves, Institutions, Genre, Grèce, Antiquité Keywords: Prostitution, Economy, Society, Slaves, Institutions, Gender, Greece, Antiquity

Abstract This paper investigates the role of household socio-economic characteristics in shaping responses to policy interventions when traditional norms are strong, focusing on the impact of land inheritance amendments on women’s empowerment in India. Leveraging changes to the Hindu Succession Act, which granted women the right to inherit ancestral property, and a simple conceptual framework with testable prediction, I show that the diverging results that can be found in the literature about the amendments can be explained by the heterogeneous responses to such policy changes. Using representative survey data, I find that the amendments positively affected education, especially among women from rural, landowning households with smaller plots of land. These women also experienced improved marriage market outcomes. The impact on female labor force participation varied across the socioeconomic spectrum, with more educated women showing increased participation in higher-paying jobs, while less educated women in rural areas either left the workforce or transitioned to less demanding occupations. This research contributes to understanding the complex dynamics of policy responses, highlighting the importance of considering the interplay between cultural practices, household characteristics, and socioeconomic factors in policy design and implementation, especially in contexts of high inequality.

Paca, the bridewealth practice in the Manggarai community, has shifted from barter-based payments such as livestock, land, and jewelry to predominantly cash transactions. This transformation, known as Kaba Agu Jarang Satu Cikang, reflects wider socio-economic changes and raises questions about its cultural and symbolic implications within the marriage market. This study analyzes paca as a transactional mechanism, explores its transition to cash payments and the resulting shifts in symbolic meaning, and interprets paca as a form of social accounting amid modernization. Using transcendental phenomenology, data were collected through focus group discussions, interviews, and documentation to capture lived experiences from multiple perspectives. The findings show that paca increasingly resembles business transactions and corresponds with accounting concepts reflected in PSAK 55, PSAK 23, and PSAK 58, indicating a movement from sacred ritual toward a more commercialized process. Despite this shift, paca continues to function as social accounting by mediating relationships and maintaining cultural cohesion. This study contributes to understanding how customary practices adapt to economic change and offers practical insight for community stakeholders to balance modernization with the preservation of cultural and symbolic values.

ABSTRACT Objective To examine the association between same‐sex marriage market opportunity and racial exogamy among newly formed same‐sex male and female marriages. Background Same‐sex marriages, particularly those among men, are more likely to be interracial than different‐sex marriages. The availability thesis attributes this to the limited opportunity to meet eligible same‐race partners in the same‐sex marriage market. Yet, empirical tests of this thesis remain scarce, partly due to challenges in capturing same‐sex marriage markets in representative data. Method Adopting the American Community Survey (ACS) 2015–2023, we estimated logistic regression models to predict racial exogamy among newlywed same‐sex couples in which at least one spouse is non‐Hispanic White ( N = 1087 male; N = 1253 female couples). Marriage market opportunity was measured using state‐level Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data, defined as the percentage of White, unmarried gay and bisexual men (or lesbian and bisexual women) among all unmarried male (or female) adults. Results In models including individual and couple‐level controls, greater marriage market opportunity was associated with lower odds of racial exogamy among women and men, providing initial support for the availability thesis. Yet, this association became statistically nonsignificant after adjusting for state‐level contexts. Alternative opportunity measures concerning bisexual adults yielded similar results. Conclusion This study is among the first to use representative data to conceptualize and operationalize same‐sex marriage markets and link them to racial intermarriage. The null finding raises questions about the applicability of the availability thesis to same‐sex contexts and suggests that the distinctive features of same‐sex partner search may weaken the impact of market opportunity.

Abstract This study explores the marriage matching of only-child individuals and the related outcomes. Specifically, we analyze two aspects: First, we investigate the marriage patterns of only children, examining whether people choose mates in a positive or negative assortative manner regarding only-child status. We find that, along with being more likely to remain single, only children are more likely to marry another only child. Second, we measure the matching premium or penalty as the difference in partners’ socioeconomic status between only-child and non-only-child individuals, where socioeconomic status is approximated by years of schooling. Our estimates indicate that among women who marry an only-child husband, only children are penalized, as their partners’ educational attainment is 0.63 years lower. Finally, we discuss the potential sources of this penalty in light of our empirical findings.

ABSTRACT This study investigates how cholera epidemics shaped marriage patterns in 19th-century Poznań, using formalized statistical modeling on individual records of 12,606 married couples from 1830 to 1874. Seven waves of cholera epidemics were studied (1831, 1837, 1848, 1852, 1855, 1866, and 1873). The number of months between the date of marriage and the end of the last epidemic was used in the modelling as a covariate with a potentially non-linear response. To examine the effects of epidemics upon marriages, we focused on the immediate post-epidemic period. The time frame of interest was defined as the interval starting at the end of a cholera epidemic and ending 12 months later. We observed a statistically significant effect of the parish (inter-parish heterogeneity; p < 0.001) and the number of months elapsing after the end of the cholera epidemic (p < 0.05) on the difference in the mean marriage age between groom and bride (in years). This difference rose in a non-linear and non-monotonic fashion, peaking twice: around 2 months and 8–9 months after the epidemic. The likelihood of marriages involving a disparity in marital status – where one partner was a widow/widower and the other was marrying for the first time – fluctuated significantly throughout the post-epidemic year, increasing in January, July, and August, and declining in April and October. The waves of cholera epidemics significantly influenced the likelihood of marriages between partners of different religious affiliations, particularly in the period following the end of the outbreaks. These patterns reflect a demographic deficit in Poznań after each epidemic, unevenly distributed across social strata, which disrupted the marriage market, influenced partner selection, and altered marriage timing and age dynamics. The findings underscore the profound social and demographic consequences of epidemics, highlighting how mortality crises can reshape intimate social structures and behaviors.

ABSTRACT This paper argues that in post-1990 Nepal, women’s education was treated as a gift rather than a right. Women from British Gurkha soldier families from Nepal (the Gurkha women), despite being denied education themselves, prioritised their daughters’ schooling. While earlier generations saw marriage and dowry as security, changing socio-economic conditions, development aid, and remittance income enabled these women to prioritise education. Although structural forces such as mandatory Gurkha schools and gender-equality policies expanded access, this paper argues that it was women’s agency that secured their daughters’ education. By redefining education as a gift – despite not inheriting education but ensuring their daughters’ futures – these women challenged patriarchal constraints, manoeuvred neoliberal market systems, and reshaped intergenerational aspirations. However, marriage continues to remain a dominant expectation, with education now enhancing a daughter’s value in the marriage market rather than entirely liberating her from gendered pressures.

This study investigates the continued relevance of hypergamy—women’s inclination to seek partners with higher socio-economic standing—in spite of contemporary shifts in gender norms, labor participation, and family structures. Based on survey data from 740 university students in Sakarya University, the research examines how expectations concerning income, property ownership, career prestige, and cultural adequacy differ by gender and shape partner preferences. The results reveal perceived gendered patterns: women are significantly more likely than men to prioritize financial security, cultural refinement, and professional success in prospective partners. These preferences suggest that marriage is still perceived as a pathway to upward social mobility, particularly among women. The study interprets these findings through the lens of social structures that value different forms of capital—economic, cultural, and symbolic—within the marriage market. These forms of capital not only influence desirability but also serve as tools for negotiating better life opportunities through romantic unions. Rather than viewing hypergamy as an outdated remnant, the study frames it as a pragmatic response to the demands of modern life, where socio-economic pressures and gendered expectations persist despite formal strides toward equality. By situating these dynamics within Turkish context balancing traditional values and modern aspirations, the article highlights how partner selection continues to reflect deeper social hierarchies and structural constraints in family formation.

There is a widespread belief, in both the scholarly literature and the popular press, that polygyny prevents large numbers of men from marrying by skewing the sex ratio of the marriage market. In turn, the exclusion of men from marriage is thought to lead to negative outcomes, e.g., by fueling crime and armed conflict. In this paper, we investigate systematically the relationship between polygyny and men's marriage prospects. First, using a demographic model, we show that marriage markets are skewed sufficiently feminine, under a range of realistic demographic scenarios, to sustain some level of polygyny without locking any men out of marriage. Second, through analysis of 84.1 million census records from 30 countries across Africa, Asia, and Oceania between 1969 and 2016, we show that the subnational association between the prevalence of polygyny and the prevalence of unmarried men is negative or null, rather than positive, for almost all countries in the sample. Third, through analysis of the full-count 1880 US federal census, we show that the average prevalence of unmarried men is lower, not higher, across counties of the West with Mormon polygyny, compared to other counties of the West, and to counties of the Midwest and the Northeast; it is higher only compared to counties of the South. Overall, these findings challenge a dominant narrative linking polygyny to negative social outcomes. Drawing on existing evidence, we suggest that the observed patterns may be explained by an underlying association between the prevalence of polygyny and the strength of promarriage norms.

Abstract Childlessness in late male adulthood is increasingly prevalent in rural China, indicating a need to understand the factors contributing to it. This group is often overlooked in gerontological and childlessness research. While existing studies have explored individual-level predictors of childlessness over the lifecourse and implications of broader societal conditions at the population level, little is known about how lifecourse and structural factors interact to shape pathways to childlessness. This study aims to investigate structural factors contributing to childlessness among older men in a rural area of northern China. It focuses on the life stories of 13 childless older men and the effects of history, timing and life-domain interdependencies, finding that some participants experienced intense disruptive life events or critical turning points – early-life care-giving responsibilities, disability or withdrawal from school – that altered their life trajectories. These events often intersected with structural factors, including unstable and low-paid employment, lack of social protection and prevailing social norms, which reinforced one another and jointly constrained prospects for marriage and parenthood. These trajectories unfolded within shifting policy contexts; institutional arrangements across different historical periods shaped and often produced disadvantages in the marriage market. This study advances theoretical understanding of the structural factors contributing to male childlessness by recognizing life trajectories, structural shifts and social relations as linked factors shaping cumulative disadvantage in union formation and childbearing. Its policy implications surround supporting individuals who intend to form families during critical life transitions and addressing the broader structural barriers that shape male childlessness in rural areas.