Full Citation

Title: Human Capital and Interethnic Marriage Decisions

Citation Type: Journal Article

Publication Year: 2012

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Abstract: Common explanations for the generally negative relationship between education and ethnic endogamy include (1) education makes immigrants and their children better able to adapt to native culture thereby eliminating the need for a same-ethnicity spouse and (2) education raises the likelihood of leaving ethnic enclaves, thereby decreasing the probability of meeting potential same-ethnicity spouses. This paper considers a third option, the role of assortative matching on education. If education distributions differ by ethnicity, then spouse-searchers may trade similarities in ethnicity for similarities in education when choosing spouses. U.S. Census data on second-generation immigrants provide strong support for the assortative matching mechanism.

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Authors: Furtado, Delia

Periodical (Full): Economic inquiry

Issue: 1

Volume: 50

Pages: 82-93

Data Collections: IPUMS USA, IPUMS CPS

Topics: Family and Marriage, Other

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