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Title: An Empirical Study of Darwins Theory of Mate Choice

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2003

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Abstract: In Darwins (1871) theory of mate choice, males compete, females choose,males are more differentiated, and highly ornamented males mate earlier. Thispaper reexamines the latter three hypotheses of Darwin about human mateselection by estimating a Nash marriage market equilibrium model using allrestrictions implied by marriage theory. The MLE method employed involvessolving for steady state marriage sets. An index of marriageability is proposedto allow for incorporation of data on education, wages, and unobserved heterogeneityin a computationally manageable way. Results do not support Darwinsclaim: males are as choosy as females. However, the notion that males are moredifferentiated than females and that marriageable (highly ornamented) malestend to marry earlier are both supported by my results. Education is more importantthan wage as a marriageable trait for both men and women. Femalesin cities tend to have more desirable unobserved characteristics when comparedwith males in cities and females in suburbs. The marriage market appears tobe sensitive to changes in agents levels of education and variability in wages.

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Authors: Wong, Linda Y.

Publisher: Chicago Booth School of Business

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Family and Marriage

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