Seminario de Microeconomía Aplicada - Changing educational homogamy: shifting preferences or evolving educational distribution

Anna Naszodi:  is a researcher in economics and finance affiliated with the Central Bank of Hungary (Magyar Nemzeti Bank). Previously she was a researcher at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission. Her research interests include banking and finance, international finance, monetary economics, financial markets, applied econometrics and demographic economics..

Resumen del documento: We study changes in educational homogamy in the US and four European countries over the decade covering the Great Recession. The marital preferences identified point to the widening of the social gap between different educational groups since these preferences have increased the inclination of the individuals to match with others of similar educational traits in all five countries. We obtain this finding with an aggregate measure characterizing revealed preferences of individuals in relationship. We apply a novel approach for validating our finding: we compare our aggregate measure with dating data informative about the reservation points not only of those people who will be in a couple, but also those who will remain single. Finally, we challenge a commonly held view: we argue that marital preferences should not be blamed for the documented increase of the social gap since preferences are not exogenous, but are shaped by changes in the employment prospects of the potential partners. 

Tiempo de exposición: 1:30 p. m. a 2:30 p. m.