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Assortative Mating Pattern Change in China since 1949: An Analysis Based on First Marriage Cohorts

Sat, August 11, 10:30 to 11:30am, Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, Floor: Level 5, Salon G

Abstract

Drawing data from the 2010 Chinese Women Social Status Survey, this research explores the trends of assortative mating patterns in China since 1949 (the founding of the People’s Republic of China) which were calculated from the K-means clustering method. Political, economic, and marriage culture factors are proposed as possible reasons for the observed pattern changes. Clustering results showed that the mating pattern of first-marriage cohorts can be roughly divided into five categories: "ascending marriage ", "descending marriage", "ascribed marriage", "achieved marriage ", and the "age-determined marriage " type by considering the matching characteristics of couples’ age, education, and family economic status before marriage. We found that homogamy is still prevalent in the process of mating. The percentage of "ascending marriage" type has been declining in marriage cohorts, while the "descending marriage" type has become more and more popular in younger marriage cohorts. Achieved factors, such as education, showed no significant effect in the mating process. However, this result might be obscured by the settings of the model. Finally, the importance of the ascribed factor has been growing in recent years.

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