Marriage, education and assortative mating in Latin America

Abstract

In this article, we establish facts related to marriage and education in Latin American countries. Using census data from IPUMS International, we show how marriage and assortative mating patterns have changed from 1980 to 2000 and how the patterns in Latin America compare to the United States. We find that in Latin American countries, highly educated individuals are less likely to be married than the less educated, and the pattern is stronger for women. We also show that while it has been increasing over time, there is less positive assortative mating in Latin America than in the United States.

Keywords:

• development
• marriage
• education

JEL Classification:

• O12
• J12
• I20

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge support received from the Women and Public Policy Program and the Women’s Leadership Board at the Harvard Kennedy School, and the Center for International Development at Harvard University. We would like to thank Iris Bohnet, Marcela Escobari, Claudia Goldin, Victor Lavy, Lant Pritchett, Roberto Rigobon and Rodrigo Soares for their helpful comments and discussions.

Notes

¹ Bolivia’s D1980 is 1976; Costa Rica’s D1980 is 1973 and D1990 is 1984.