Marriage squeeze among highly educated: Living arrangements of young highly educated women in Europe

• In Event: 3531 - Variation in Sexual and Romantic Relationships by Socioeconomic Status

Abstract

The paper explores the living arrangement of young highly educated women in Europe. The reversal of gender gap in higher education produced a marriage squeeze as more highly educated women compete for a smaller number of highly educated men. This paper examines the role of occupational resources (field of occupation, status, income) in the odds of marrying a highly educated man, marrying down, and staying single. The analysis of the EU-SILC 2013 data confirms our hypotheses and shows that women with better jobs and higher incomes have higher the odds of living in a homogamous union. Our data also shows that if high resource women do not live with highly educated men, they are less likely to marry down compared to women with fewer resources. The field of occupation does not seem to have a signaling function beyond personal income.

Author

• Dana Hamplova, Institute of Sociology