Economic potential and entry into marriage and cohabitation

Abstract

This article explores the relationship between economic potential and rates of entry into marriage and cohabitation. Using data from the 1990 census and the 1980-1992 High School and Beyond (Sophomore Cohort), we developed a method for explicitly estimating five time-varying measures of earnings potential. The analyses of union formation are based on an intergenerational panel study of parents and children, to which our measures of earnings potential were appended. The results indicate that all five measures of earnings potential strongly and positively influence the likelihood of marriage for men, but not for women. Earnings potential does not affect entry into cohabiting unions for either men or women.

Has the reciprocal relationship between employment and marriage changed for men? An analysis of the life histories of men born in the Netherlands between 1930 and 1970

“…While there is a strong reciprocal link between marriage and employment, this link is less clear for cohabitation: the entry into cohabitation is less sensitive to employment status than the entry into marriage. In part these findings mirror those of earlier studies that find that men's economic characteristics are more important for the entry into marriage than for the entry into cohabitation (Bracher and Santow 1998;Oppenheimer 2003;Xie et al 2003;Sassler and Goldscheider 2004). We emphasize however that, though employment effects are weaker on entry into cohabitation, they are still strong and statistically significant.…”

“…Cohabitation can therefore be used as a way for couples to reduce uncertainty, before marriage, about future career prospects. Recent American evidence does suggest that economic prospects are less important for entry into cohabitation, although it is less clear whether favourable economic prospects among men also have a positive effect on the transition from cohabitation to marriage (Liefbroer 1991;Smock and Manning 1997;Bracher and Santow 1998;Kravdal 1999;Brown 2000;Oppenheimer 2003;Sassler and McNally 2003;Xie et al 2003).…”

“…Empirical studies generally support the view that, for men, unemployment, low earnings, and career 'immaturity' lead to delays in marrying. Evidence of this effect has been found both in the USA and in Europe, although it is somewhat less consistent in Europe (Lichter et al 1992;Lloyd and South 1996;Oppenheimer et al 1997;Smock and Manning 1997;Bracher and Santow 1998;Kravdal 1999;Liefbroer and Corijn 1999;Sassler and Schoen 1999;Sweeney 2002;Oppenheimer 2003;Xie et al 2003;Sassler and Goldscheider 2004;Blossfeld et al 2005).…”

Changes in the Determinants of Marriage Entry in Post-Reform Urban China

“…Studies using either cross-sectional or longitudinal data have invariably observed a positive relationship between measures of men's economic prospects and marriage formation (e.g. Cooney and Hogan 1991;Goldscheider and Waite 1986;Goldstein and Kenney 2001;Lloyd and South 1996;MacDonald and Rindfuss 1981;Mare and Winship 1991;Oppenheimer, Kalmijn, and Lim 1997;Qian and Preston 1993;Sassler and Schoen 1999;Sweeney 2002;Teachman, Polonko, and Leigh 1987;Xie et al 2003). The uniformity in this finding confirms the traditional model of marriage in which the husband is considered the breadwinner and the wife the homemaker.…”

“…As a result, education, representing economic potential (Xie et al 2003), is a major resource in the marriage market that speeds up marriage. In East Asian countries, universal and early marriage has long been practiced (Thornton and Lin 1994).…”