Marriage Market Research Articles

English Language Premium in a Marriage Market: Experimental Evidence from Delhi

English Language Premium in a Marriage Market: Experimental Evidence from Delhi

Relationship Stability: Evidence from Labor and Marriage Markets

Relationship Stability: Evidence from Labor and Marriage Markets

Traditional beliefs matter in the marriage market: observational and experimental evidence in China

Traditional beliefs matter in the marriage market: observational and experimental evidence in China

Sex ratios and gender norms: why both are needed to understand sexual conflict in humans.

Sexual conflict theory has been successfully applied to predict how in non-human animal populations, sex ratios can lead to conflicting reproductive interests of females and males and affect their bargaining positions in resolving such conflicts of interests. Recently this theory has been extended to understand the resolution of sexual conflict in humans, but with mixed success. We argue that an underappreciation of the complex relationship between gender norms and sex ratios has hampered a successful understanding of sexual conflict in humans. In this paper, we review and expand upon existing theory to increase its applicability to humans, where gender norms regulate sex ratio effects on sexual conflict. Gender norms constrain who is on the marriage market and how they are valued, and may affect reproductive decision-making power. Gender norms can also directly affect sex ratios, and we hypothesize that they structure how individuals respond to market value gained or lost through biased sex ratios. Importantly, gender norms are in part a product of women's and men's sometimes conflicting reproductive interests, but these norms are also subject to other evolutionary processes. An integration of sexual conflict theory and cultural evolutionary theory is required to allow for a full understanding of sexual conflict in humans.

GENDER DISCRIMINATION

Over the course of the last several years, there has been a significant amount of attention paid to the grave issue of women in India misusing the judicial system. The fact that women in India are often subjected to discrimination and do not have equal rights and opportunities contributes to the existence of gender bias in many aspects of Indian society. However, the fact that women often take advantage of the judicial system just helps to exacerbate the gender bias that already exists. Throughout the history of the legal system, there have been several instances of women attaining their objectives, sometimes at the expense of men. This behaviour is not only inappropriate from a moral standpoint, but it also goes against the Constitution. In the Indian Constitution, there is no section that specifically addresses the issue of gender equality. Over the course of its history, the Constitution has been subjected to several amendments in order to ensure that women are afforded equal legal protection. It is a fundamental human right to ensure that women are protected from any kind of discrimination, regardless of circumstances. Despite this, prejudice against women continues to exist in many aspects of society, such as the marriage market, the job, and educational institutions. In India, the most prevalent instances of women misusing the judicial system are those that include domestic violence and offences involving dowries. According to Indian law, crimes that include dowries are considered to be of a criminal character and entail criminal consequences. Instead, women often create charges of dowry harassment against their husbands or in-laws in order to achieve what they want in a divorce or property dispute. This is done in order to get what they want. Because of this misuse, men are deprived of the rights that are rightfully theirs, in addition to eroding the value of the law. To add insult to injury, when confronted with charges of domestic violence, law enforcement officers often do nothing, so allowing the perpetrators of the abuse to take the blame. This violates not just the rights of the victims but also sends the message that violence against women is acceptable. One of the most significant issues that has to be addressed is the fact that women in India are misusing the judicial system. In accordance with the provisions of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees gender equality, it is the responsibility of the government to ensure that women are afforded equal rights and opportunities. It is imperative that we take precautions to prevent women from exploiting the legal system and to ensure that they are afforded enough protection against discrimination on the basis of their gender. Furthermore, individuals who are culpable for this crime should be subjected to the full force of the law, and victims of gender-based violence should get proper assistance and protection while they are victims.

Optimal weights for marital sorting measures

Changing distributions of male and female types affect the measurement of education-based marriage market sorting. We develop a weighting strategy that minimizes the distortion of sorting measures due to changing type distributions. The optimal weights reflect that female type distributions have changed relatively more in recent decades. Based on our weighted measure, we document increased sorting in Denmark between 1980 and 2018. Alternative measures suggest flat or decreasing trends.

Opting out or left out? The gendered determinants of marriage in South Korea

AbstractObjectiveThis study examines the determinants of marriage decline in South Korea, a representative case of the “demographic crisis” sweeping East Asia.BackgroundThe major theories accounting for marriage and family trends are for the most part based on Western cases. A complementing focus on non‐Western societies is likely to identify a more diverse range of processes governing marriage patterns in advanced capitalist societies.MethodThe study draws on the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study (KLIPS) to analyze a sample of 4201 unmarried individuals whose longitudinal data were organized into 55,989 person‐year records. Discrete‐time hazard models incorporating 23 waves of KLIPS data (1998–2020) identify the gendered determinants of marriage.ResultsSocioeconomic resources continue to positively impact men's marriage chances although income, relative to employment status and educational attainment, has become paramount for members of the younger 1980s cohort. Parental wealth, an important precondition for home purchases, also positively impacts the likelihood of marriage for men. Income and parental wealth have become important for women as well but unlike the documented “educational crossover” that has occurred elsewhere, high educational attainment remains negatively associated with marriage probability for Korean women.ConclusionThis study clarifies the scope conditions for arguments about the “shifting economic foundations of marriage,” while foregrounding the enduring legacy of extended‐family resources in strong familism societies. The results also lend empirical leverage to past studies highlighting the clear disincentives for marriage among highly educated women and provide a more comprehensive picture of why underprivileged men are being left out of Korea's marriage market.

Female education and marriage in Pakistan: The role of financial shocks and marital customs

This project aims to explore the effect of wealth shocks on education and marriage for young women in Pakistan. Financial shocks are used to estimate the probability of dropping out of education and into marriage. Using the Pakistan Rural Household Panel survey for the years 2000–10, the effects of financial shocks on the probability of dropping out of education and into marriage are estimated for boys and girls in rural areas. Second, the returns to education in the marriage market are estimated using information on marital payments of dowry and brideprice. Lastly, the intergenerational effects of women’s increased bargaining power due to marital assets is estimated. The results show wealth shocks do not have a gendered effect on school dropout. Also, adverse shocks during the teenage years do not increase the probability of early marriage. However, this relationship is negative in villages where marital payments are typically higher—that is, marriage costs can delay early marriage in shock-hit households as they are more credit-constrained. Lastly, higher educated women receive more marital assets, which can contribute to increased bargaining power within the marriage. This increased bargaining power also has intergenerational effects on children’s schooling.

Marital house and marriage: evidence from micro-level data

Purpose In China, having a home before getting married is viewed as being a crucial indicator of the sincerity of romance. Despite recent increases in housing costs, men who have their homes ready for marriage stand out in the marriage market. This study aims to explore the association between readiness to marry, marriage age and the home that men purchase prior to marriage using the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey, the first countrywide follow-up survey with the theme of labor force. Design/methodology/approach The authors suggest new standards for determining the marital residence. In addition, contrary to the existing literature, which focuses on “Sheng Nu” (women who do not marry by the traditional marriage age in China), the authors focus on “Sheng Nan” (men who do not marry by the traditional marriage age in China). Findings The results show that men who own a house before marriage are reluctant to get married. The authors document robust evidence that the preexistence of the marital house decreases the willingness to marry and postpones the marriage date, regardless of location and time. Originality/value The authors document robust evidence that the preexistence of the marital house decreases the willingness to marry and postpones the marriage date, regardless of location and time.

Determinants of singleness among women aged 40 and over in Algeria: what relation to the labor market?

The decrease in the average age of marriage and the increase in loneliness among women in Algeria is a phenomenon that is becoming increasingly visible in society. In the coming years, the number of single people will increase. This article analyses the factors leading to increased loneliness among women aged 40 and over in Algeria based on data from the MICS6/2019 survey. The minimum age threshold was chosen because it corresponds to the age after which the probability of first marriage is almost zero based on Algerian statistics. The methodology of this study is stepwise Wald logistic regression. The paper built regression models based on two samples: the first (24,681 women aged 40 and over) and the second (4,329 women aged 50-54). For an empirical study of loneliness among women, it is proposed to analyze the following determinants: type of employment, type of social protection, place of residence, level of education, and age. Based on the results of the research, four main conclusions were formed. First, the odds of being single are 14.1 times and 4.23 times higher among job-seeking and working women, respectively, compared to non-working women. Due to the loss of hope to get married, women choose career development instead of building a family union. Under these conditions, women integrate into the labor market late. Since most of this category is unemployed and not of retirement age, they have low health insurance coverage. Based on this, to create decent living conditions for single women aged 40 and older, it is advisable to launch a program to improve the qualifications of these women, find ways to integrate them into the working environment and provide them with health insurance. Secondly, the long-term trend indicates that loneliness as a psychological phenomenon will increase every year in society, which will, accordingly, contribute to the strengthening of the imbalance in the marriage market. Late marriage and declining fertility are indicators of new patterns of behavior brought about by economic and social change. Thirdly, the level of well-being is also a statistically significant factor influencing the loneliness of women. Middle-class women are 1.27 times more likely to be single than upper-class women. Fourth, the survey revealed significant regional differences. Women in Algeria’s north-eastern and north-central regions are more likely to remain single. These results can be further explored through qualitative research.

결혼 시장의 양극화, 솔로화 사회 - 가키야 미우(垣谷美雨)의 『うちの子が結婚しないので』에 투영된 결혼 시장 -

결혼 시장의 양극화, 솔로화 사회 - 가키야 미우(垣谷美雨)의 『うちの子が結婚しないので』에 투영된 결혼 시장 -

THE SHAPING OF A GENDER NORM: MARRIAGE, LABOR, AND FOOT‐BINDING IN HISTORICAL CHINA

AbstractThis article presents a theory that explains the rise of foot‐binding in historical China, in response to a gender‐asymmetric social mobility shock that dispersed men's quality distribution in the marriage market. The theory characterizes the marriage market equilibrium and women's competition strategies before and after the shock. Empirical evidence using archival data corroborates the theoretical predictions that greater men's social mobility opportunities encouraged foot‐binding and that a greater cost of women's labor discouraged foot‐binding. The article thus highlights that costly gender norms can be traced back to gender asymmetry in social mobility opportunities.

Gender Aspirations in Chinese Marriage Market: A Study of Differences in Gender and the History of the Standards of Marriage

Throughout the history of China, the conception of marriage in Chinese traditional philosophy, such as Confucianism, has remained longstanding and influential even in modern Chinese society. The standards and the social and familial obligations for both sexes that result from such matrimonial beliefs, however, have developed in conflict with modern lifestyles and mindsets, especially for females. This article, through an in depth analysis of the expectations of marriage of both genders, their views on marriage and their expectations of the other spouse, and a variety of current events and movements, aims to further understand the status quo and future outlook in the Chinese marriage market from social, cultural, and economic perspectives. In the current Chinese marriage market, there remain two stereotypical sets of standards for a perfect spouse for both males and females, which are both reinforced through prevalent dating attitudes and disapproved of by modern feminism, the new lifestyle pursuits of the younger generation, and the deprioritization of marriage by females.

The value of a green card in the U.S. marriage market: A tale of chain migration?

This study examines the impact of having a clear path to lawful permanent resident status, or a “green card,” on marital status and spousal characteristics among Chinese immigrants in the United States. A series of U.S. policy changes in the early 1990s made almost all mainland Chinese immigrants already present in the country eligible for a green card. We examine the effect of those policy changes on Chinese immigrants' marriage market outcomes relative to other East Asian immigrants. Using 1990 and 2000 U.S. Census data, we find that the share of Chinese immigrants who are married increased after they became automatically eligible for a green card. In particular, highly educated Chinese immigrants became relatively more likely to be married with a spouse living with them and relatively less likely to be married with a spouse living elsewhere. This pattern suggests that some Chinese spouses immigrated after their husband or wife received legal status, or spousal chain migration occurred. We also find that highly educated Chinese immigrants benefited in the marriage market in terms of spousal education and earnings, but less-educated Chinese immigrants did not. Meanwhile, less-educated Chinese-born women became relatively more likely to marry a U.S. native.

Abandoning female genital mutilation/cutting (FGMC) is an emerging but costly parental investment strategy in rural Ethiopia

Female genital mutilation or cutting (FGMC) has profound consequences for an estimated 200 million women world-wide, yet affected communities often resist efforts to end the practice. Marriage market dynamics have been proposed as key to this resistance, because where FGMC is normative, parents are motivated to cut their daughters to improve their marriage prospects. Some economists have also argued that financial gain, through bride wealth payments, incentivises parents to cut daughter's at time of marriage. Bride wealth, however, does not necessarily equal net economic return, confounding efforts to test this assumption. Here we use detailed data on the financial value of all exchanges at marriage from Ethiopian Arsi Oromo agropastoralists to assess their association with FGMC. We also explore the idea that parents must replace FGMC with other forms of investment (e.g., education) when cutting practices are rejected. Multivariate multilevel Bayesian models were run using data from the first marriages of 358 women to assess the association between FGMC status and education and marriage-related outcomes: bride wealth payments, dowry costs, and age at marriage. Being cut is associated with lower dowry costs and earlier age at marriage but does not predict bride wealth paid by the groom's family. School attendance is associated with higher bride wealth, particularly for women with four or more years of education, and with later age at marriage. These findings indicate that bride wealth payments do not maintain FGMC among the Arsi Oromo. While we find a relative economic loss for parents from FGMC abandonment through higher value dowry gifts, this may be traded-off against the health benefits to uncut daughters. These findings point to the emergence of new norms, whereby Arsi Oromo parents reject cutting for their daughters and prefer their daughters-in-law to be educated.

Marital sorting, family output, and wealth inequality

Abstract In this article, we analytically model marital sorting, intergenerational transfers, and inequality in a household optimization model with uncertainty. We modify and apply a ‘sorting, reverse sorting’ numerical approach by Demirtas in the context of marriage market mating, illustrating the robustness of our analytical results. We show that the parameters of the family production function play an important role in driving the path of an economy’s inequality. One finding is that, under assortative mating, factor shares in the family production function positively affect inequality, while under disassortative mating, the relationship between the factor shares and inequality is U-shaped. This and other results that we obtain can stimulate further empirical research, holding potentially important policy implications.

The Solution for Girls with No Sex Appeal: The Ironized Yeast – A Multi Modal Discourse Analysis of Vintage Advertisements

This paper presents a discourse analysis of three vintage advertisements for Ironized Yeast using Multi Modal Discourse Analysis and Critical Discourse Analysis. Drawing on the concept of erotic capital by Hakim (2011), the study explores how these advertisements exploit women’s insecurities about their body shape while offering a solution that goes beyond physical attractiveness. The analysis reveals that the advertisements promote the idea that women can leverage their erotic capital to enhance their sex appeal, thereby increasing their chances of success in the dating and marriage market. This research examines the construction and perpetuation of the seductive power associated with a curvy figure. The findings highlight the intricate interplay between discourses of attractiveness, power dynamics, and societal expectations, urging critical reflection on the influence of such representations on individuals and broader social dynamics.

The future of the labour force: a quantitative examination of the drivers of female labor force participation and total fertility rate in developed economies

ABSTRACT Recent sluggish economic growth in developed countries has become a cause for concern regarding the long-term sustainability of the global economy. Continuous declines in the total fertility rate (TFR) constitute an essential factor in stagnant economic growth in developed countries. In this paper, we utilize fixed and random effect models to examine the relationships of TFR with putative TFR determinants in G7 countries from 1980 to 2020. Our findings support the societal response hypothesis wherein the relationship between TFR and female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) is posited to be stable and positive. Furthermore, the present study confirms a positive relationship of crude marriage rate (CMR) and market childcare availability (MktCC) with TFR. A negative relationship between the ageing population (AGE) and TFR was observed, consistent with broad concerns regarding the impending economic impacts of population ageing in developed countries.

Timing and pathways: differences in marriage behavior among migrants and local Shanghainese born in 1980–1989

The disparity in marriage timing between migrants and non-migrants in China has been detected. One of the explanations for this inequality is the hukou status. Yet, this explanation neglects a special type of migrants: those who have earned a local hukou. This study specifies non-hukou migrants, hukou converters, and local residents in Shanghai, and compares their marriage timing and pathways. Using discrete-time event analyses, this study finds that both non-hukou migrants and new Shanghainese (hukou migrants) are more likely to have a delayed marriage than their local counterparts, showing that hukou preference is not the sole explanation for marital inequality in China. Further estimations reveal that new Shanghainese spend a longer time entering a network-introduced marriage while they exhibit no difference in the timing of self-initiated marriages than local Shanghainese. The results indicate that hukou migrants are not deprioritizing marriage, but they lack social connections to the local marriage market. Non-hukou migrants encounter double disadvantages of lacking a local hukou and local social connections. Social networks are an alternative lens other than the hukou status to understanding marital disparities among migrants and non-migrants in China.

Effect of military service on fertility: evidence from the 2001 draft suspension in Spain

PurposeMany European countries suspended mandatory conscription after the Cold War, and especially between 2000 and 2010. However, with the changing security situation in Europe, more and more countries are considering the re-introduction of the draft. That is why, it is important to evaluate the impact of conscription on draftees, including its effect on fertility outcomes. Additionally, fertility is of particular interest because birth rates have been below replacement levels in most European countries at least in the last two decades. This, combined with the increase in life expectancy, has contributed to aging population and raises concerns about the future economic prospects and sustainability of the continent. Military service could be related to fertility in several ways. Compulsory service for men would affect the marriage market and subsequently child-bearing outcomes. For example, men who serve in the military would have to delay higher education at least by a year, given that they plan to continue their education after high school. One possibility is that this leads to older men meeting younger women if partners meet at college. Alternatively, in case the partners know each other prior to the draft, service could delay marriage by up to a year due to the conscription, postponing planning and having children, and potentially having fewer children as women might be less able or less willing to have a child after a certain age. Finally, some men who plan and would otherwise continue their education might choose to not do so or to further postpone it once they disattach from studying during their service. For some men, this might influence their marital and subsequent fertility outcomes. In either of these scenarios, a draft or its suspension is likely to be connected to fertility.Design/methodology/approachThis study examines the effect of the suspension of the draft in Spain in December 2001 on three fertility outcomes of men that would have been drafted in the absence of the suspension. The author performs the analysis in a difference-in-differences framework. Potential concerns and policy implications are also discussed.FindingsThe findings suggest that after the suspension of the draft, individuals started to have their first child earlier given that they decide to have children. Consistent with the overall time trend, they became less likely to have a child and started to have fewer children. However, the age at birth of the first child decreased while the number of children and the likelihood of having a child increased for men relative to women, after compared to before the suspension of the mandatory draft.Originality/valueThe author extends prior literature by investigating the effect of the abolition of compulsory military service in Spain in December 2001 on fertility. This is novel is several ways. First, to the best of the author’s knowledge, previous literature has examined the effect of this Spanish reform only on labor market outcomes prior to men's conscription. Second, even for other countries that terminated the compulsory draft, fertility has been under-studied, providing an opportunity for further exploration. Third, this analysis is based on rich Census data, representative of the population in Spain. Finally, given the inconclusive findings of previous studies for other countries and the proposed re-introduction of the draft in some parts of Europe, additional evidence of the effect of the conscription has important policy implications necessary for the evaluation of future military service policy decisions.