The effects of higher education on woman's probability of marriage in the U.S

It is believed that there is “hypergamy”, which is the tendency for women to marry up with respect to education or other features associated with economic well-being. Hypergamy tends to interfere with marriage for women at the top of the education distribution. There is some possibility that a more successful woman could be less successful in finding a husband or bearing a child. The difference between the proportion of women with lower education who are married and the proportion of women with higher education who are married is called the “success gap.”  We measure the “success gap” in two different ways: one as the likelihood of marriage for women with 12 years of education minus the likelihood of marriage for women with 16 year of education; and the other as the difference in the likelihood of marriage between women with 12 years of education and women with 19 years of education.

Based on the previous study by Elaina Rose (2006) “Education, Hypergamy and the ‘Success Gap’,” we assess the relationship between the probability of marriage and education level for both men and women in the U. S. marriage market using 2000 U.S. census 5% sample data (PLUMS). We use the data for three different age groups, 30-34, 35-39, and 40-44 for both men and women. We compare these relationships according to gender, age, race, and geographical area. We also investigate the relationship between the probability of motherhood and women’s educational levels. Finally, we attempt to identify the determinants of the variations in the effects of education success on the probability of marriage across the geographical areas.

Rose (2006) compared the percentages of marriage by using U.S. census data of 1980, 1990, and 2000, and found that the success gap had declined in today’s marriage market and higher education was no longer such an obstacle to marriage for women.