ERIC Number: ED674081
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2025-May-9
Pages: 62
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: 0000-00-00
College as a Marriage Market. EdWorkingPaper No. 25-1199
Lars Kirkeboen; Edwin Leuven; Magne Mogstad; Jack Mountjoy
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
College graduates tend to marry each other. We use detailed Norwegian data to show that strong assortativity further arises by institution and field of study, especially among high earners from elite programs. Admission discontinuities reveal that enrollment itself, rather than selection, primarily drives matching by institution and field among the college-educated, and that these matches can be economically consequential. Elite professional programs, in particular, propel marginally admitted women into elite household formation: they earn substantially more themselves and match with higher-earning elite partners, becoming much more likely to join the top percentiles of household earnings while also reducing fertility. Marginal elite admission for men yields no change in partner earnings or fertility. College match-making effects are concentrated among students who attend the same institution at the same time, and are larger when opposite-sex peers are more abundant, indicating search costs in the marriage market.
Descriptors: Interpersonal Attraction, Marriage, College Programs, School Choice, College Role, Foreign Countries, Interpersonal Relationship, Intellectual Disciplines, College Attendance, Wages, Gender Differences, Birth Rate, Institutional Characteristics, College Graduates, College Admission, Family Income
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. Brown University Box 1985, Providence, RI 02912. Tel: 401-863-7990; Fax: 401-863-1290; e-mail: annenberg@brown.edu; Web site: https://annenberg.brown.edu/
Related Records: ED612059
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Authoring Institution: Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
Identifiers - Location: Norway
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A