Marrying Opportunity
Degrees of Connection: Examining the Relationships Among College Majors, Marriage, and Spouse Selection
Liang Zhang & Xiangmin Helen Liu
Research in Higher Education, August 2025
Abstract:
This study examines how college majors are related to marital outcomes through homogamy based on college attainment and fields of study. Grounded in theories of educational assortative mating, opportunity structure, and personal preferences, we investigate how college majors predict marriage probability, spouse selection, and economic inequality among different-sex and same-sex couples using American Community Survey data (2019–2023) from over 9 million individuals aged 25–69. Findings reveal significant differences in marriage probability between individuals with and without college degrees and across college majors. Including earnings and occupations substantially reduces these disparities for men but has minimal impact for women. A clear pattern of major-based homogamy emerges for both different-sex and same-sex couples. STEM majors exhibit strong homogamy and a propensity to have spouses who majored in other STEM fields. Given the significant earnings gaps across majors, major-based homogamy amplifies income inequality among married couples, an effect particularly pronounced for women in different-sex marriages.
High rates of polygyny do not lock large proportions of men out of the marriage market
Hampton Gaddy, Rebecca Sear & Laura Fortunato
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 7 October 2025
Abstract:
There is a widespread belief, in both the scholarly literature and the popular press, that polygyny prevents large numbers of men from marrying by skewing the sex ratio of the marriage market. In turn, the exclusion of men from marriage is thought to lead to negative outcomes, e.g., by fueling crime and armed conflict. In this paper, we investigate systematically the relationship between polygyny and men’s marriage prospects. First, using a demographic model, we show that marriage markets are skewed sufficiently feminine, under a range of realistic demographic scenarios, to sustain some level of polygyny without locking any men out of marriage. Second, through analysis of 84.1 million census records from 30 countries across Africa, Asia, and Oceania between 1969 and 2016, we show that the subnational association between the prevalence of polygyny and the prevalence of unmarried men is negative or null, rather than positive, for almost all countries in the sample. Third, through analysis of the full-count 1880 US federal census, we show that the average prevalence of unmarried men is lower, not higher, across counties of the West with Mormon polygyny, compared to other counties of the West, and to counties of the Midwest and the Northeast; it is higher only compared to counties of the South. Overall, these findings challenge a dominant narrative linking polygyny to negative social outcomes. Drawing on existing evidence, we suggest that the observed patterns may be explained by an underlying association between the prevalence of polygyny and the strength of promarriage norms.
Unconditional cash transfers and romantic relationship outcomes: A randomized controlled trial
Jeremy Kanter, Justin Lavner & Matthew Ogan
Journal of Family Psychology, October 2025, Pages 906-916
Abstract:
Couples living with low incomes in the United States experience greater relational distress relative to couples with more financial resources. Drawing from the family stress model, which argues that economic strain is a catalyst for relational distress, one approach to improve the relationships of couples with low incomes might be addressing and ameliorating families’ financial difficulties. This study tested this possibility using secondary data from the Baby’s First Years project, a randomized controlled trial of ongoing unconditional cash transfers to mothers. We examined the impact of receiving $333/month (relative to $20/month in a control group) on mothers’ relationship quality and relationship status at 1 and 2 years postrandomization, which included the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Multigroup models and path analyses were employed to investigate moderators and potential mechanisms contributing to differences across conditions. Randomization into the higher cash condition was not associated with relationship quality at Year 1 (b = −0.02, p = .792) or Year 2 (b = −0.02, p = .613). Likewise, there were no significant direct effects of cash assistance on relationship status at Year 1 (OR = 0.94, 95% CI [0.62, 1.42]) or Year 2 (OR = 0.79, 95% CI [0.52, 1.20]). There was minimal evidence that effects were significant for a subset of mothers, and there were no significant indirect effects on the relational outcomes through individual or economic factors. Results of this study indicate that additional resources are likely needed to alleviate low-income couples’ financial strain and improve intimate bonds.
Paler Is not Prettier: Little Evidence of Colorism among Asian American Speed-Daters
Karen Wu & Chuansheng Chen
Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, October 2025, Pages 495-512
Abstract:
Although racial preferences in dating are often studied, colorism receives less attention. In addition, most research on colorism within the United States has focused on Blacks and Latinxs. Therefore, we examined the role of colorism in attraction among single Asian Americans (N = 262) through speed-dating. Participants reported their racial/ethnic preferences in dating and participated in speed-dating, which yielded their revealed preferences for skin tone and ethnicity. Findings indicated little evidence for colorism. Overall, skin tone did not predict speed-dating success (mate desirability ratings and second date offers). U.S.-born men and women showed slight revealed preferences for darker skin, whereas foreign-born men and women diverged in their preferences, with women preferring lighter skin in men and men preferring darker skin in women. Skin tone also played little role in stated racial/ethnic preferences in dating after accounting for the participant’s generational status, ethnicity, and gender. Findings indicate that these demographic factors might underlie previously documented effects of skin tone among Asian Americans.
Health insurance and labor supply: Evidence from same-sex couples
Elisabeth Wurm
Contemporary Economic Policy, forthcoming
Abstract:
This paper examines labor supply effects of policies allowing public sector workers to include same-sex partners in employer-sponsored insurance plans. Unlike broader partnership recognition rights, these policies focus narrowly on insurance access. I find gendered labor supply responses: women in same-sex couples reduce their labor supply when gaining insurance access (−3.3pp), while men's labor supply remains unchanged. The effects are roughly half the size of those seen with broader partnership rights but follow the same gendered pattern. Lower household income and health conditions amplify labor supply responses; child care does not seem to be a key factor.
Life without sex: Large-scale study links sexlessness to physical, cognitive, and personality traits, socioecological factors, and DNA
Abdel Abdellaoui et al.
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 23 September 2025
Abstract:
Romantic (typically sexual) relationships are important to personal, physical, mental, social, and economic well-being, and to human evolution. Yet little is known about factors contributing to long-term lack of intimate relationships. We investigated phenotypic and genetic correlates of never having had sex in ~400,000 UK residents aged 39 to 73 and ~13,500 Australian residents aged 18 to 89. The strongest associations revealed that sexless individuals were more educated, less likely to use alcohol and smoke, more nervous, lonelier, and unhappier. Sexlessness was more strongly associated with physical characteristics (e.g., upper body strength) in men than in women. Sexless men tended to live in regions with fewer women, and sexlessness was more prevalent in regions with more income inequality. Common genetic variants explained 17% (SE = 4%) and 14% (SE = 3%) of variation in sexlessness in men and women, with a genetic correlation between sexes of 0.56 (SE = 0.17). Polygenic scores predicted a range of related outcomes in the Australian dataset. Our findings uncover multifaceted correlates of human intimacy and raise important lines of enquiry in the evolutionary and social sciences.