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On the Age at Marriage: Theory and Evidence from Jews and Moslems in Israel

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Abstract
In this paper we extend the Becker-Keeley and Bergstrom-Bagnoli theories of the optimal age at marriage and derive systematic cross-cultural differences in the marriage pattern. We then examine the empirical relevance of the hypotheses for Jewish and Moslem population groups in Israel. The empirical analysis is more detailed than previous studies by, for example, splitting the sample according to the wife's labor market status. The evidence supports the Becker-Keeley prediction about the effects of the spouses' wage rates, the Bergstrom-Bagnoli prediction about the effect of the husband's wage rate in a traditional society, and the various hypotheses we propose. Dans ce papier, nous étendons les théories de Becker-Keeley et Bergstrom-Bagnoli sur l`âge optimal du mariage et dérivons des différences systématiques entre les cultures dans les patterns de mariages. Ensuite, nous examinons la relevance empririquedes hypothèses pour les groupes de population juives et musulmanes en Israel. L'analyse empirique est plus détaillée que dans des études précédantes, par exemple en séparant l'échantillon selon le status de l'épouse sur le marché du travail. Les résultats corroborent les prédictions de Becker-Keeley sur l'effet du salaire de l'époux ou de l'épouse, la prédiction de Bergstrom-Bagnoli sur l'effet du salaire de l'époux dans une économie traditionnelle, ainsi que les différentes hypothèses que nous suggérons.

Suggested Citation

  • Leif Danziger & Shoshanna Neuman, 1998. "On the Age at Marriage: Theory and Evidence from Jews and Moslems in Israel," Cahiers de recherche CREFE / CREFE Working Papers 82, CREFE, Université du Québec à Montréal.
  • Handle: RePEc:cre:crefwp:82
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    1. Grossbard-Shechtman, Shoshana & Neuman, Shoshana, 1998. "The Extra Burden of Moslem Wives: Clues from Israeli Women's Labor Supply," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 46(3), pages 491-517, April.
    2. Bergstrom, Theodore C & Bagnoli, Mark, 1993. "Courtship as a Waiting Game," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 101(1), pages 185-202, February.
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    4. Bergstrom, Ted & Schoeni, Robert F, 1996. "Income Prospects and Age-at-Marriage," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 9(2), pages 115-130, May.
    5. Keeley, Michael C, 1977. "The Economics of Family Formation," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 15(2), pages 238-250, April.
    6. Becker, Gary S, 1974. "A Theory of Marriage: Part II," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(2), pages 11-26, Part II, .
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    9. Zhang, Junsen, 1995. "Do men with higher wages marry earlier or later?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 193-196, August.
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    11. Keeley, Michael C, 1979. "An Analysis of the Age Pattern of First Marriage," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 20(2), pages 527-544, June.
    12. Wong, Yue-chim, 1986. "Entrepreneurship, Marriage, and Earnings," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 68(4), pages 693-699, November.
    13. Matsushita, Keiichiro, 1989. "Economic Analysis of Age at First Marriage," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 2(2), pages 103-119.
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    15. Lee Benham, 1974. "Benefits of Women's Education within Marriage," NBER Chapters, in: Economics of the Family: Marriage, Children, and Human Capital, pages 375-394, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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    Cited by:

    1. Naomi Gershoni & Corinne Low, 2021. "Older Yet Fairer: How Extended Reproductive Time Horizons Reshaped Marriage Patterns in Israel," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 13(1), pages 198-234, January.
    2. Balestrino, Alessandro & Ciardi, Cinzia, 2008. "Social norms, cognitive dissonance and the timing of marriage," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 2399-2410, December.
    3. Nicolas Vaillant & François-Charles Wolff, 2011. "Positive and negative preferences in human mate selection," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 9(2), pages 273-291, June.
    4. Grossbard-Shechtman, Shoshana, 2003. "A consumer theory with competitive markets for work in marriage," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 31(6), pages 609-645.
    5. Stimpfle, Alexander & Stadelmann, David, 2016. "Marriage Age Affects Educational Gender Inequality: International Evidence," VfS Annual Conference 2016 (Augsburg): Demographic Change 145492, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    6. Elul, Ronel & Silva-Reus, Jose & Volij, Oscar, 2002. "Will you marry me?: A perspective on the gender gap," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 549-572, December.
    7. Vaillant, Nicolas G. & Harrant, Valérie, 2008. "Determinants of the likelihood of finding the right partner in an arranged marriage: Evidence from a French matchmaking agency," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 657-671, April.
    8. Pavlo Blavatskyy, 2018. "Why do young women marry old men?," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 85(3), pages 509-525, October.
    9. Nie, Guangyu, 2020. "Marriage squeeze, marriage age and the household savings rate in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C).
    10. Gershoni, Naomi & Low, Corinne, 2021. "The power of time: The impact of free IVF on Women’s human capital investments," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    11. Pavel Jelnov, 2018. "A New Estimator of Search Duration and Its Application to the Marriage Market," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 80(6), pages 1089-1116, December.
    12. Vaillant, Nicolas G., 2004. "Estimating the time elapsed between ending a relationship and joining a matchmaking agency: Evidence from a French marriage bureau," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 25(6), pages 789-802, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Age at marriage; Jews and Moslems;

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure

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