On the age at marriage: theory and evidence from Jews and Moslems in Israel
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.(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
Download Info
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version under "Related research" (further below) or search for a different version of it.
Bibliographic Info
Article provided by Elsevier in its journal Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization.
Volume (Year): 40 (1999)
Issue (Month): 2 (October)
Pages: 179-193
Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jebo
Related research
Keywords:Other versions of this item:
- Danziger, Leif & Neuman, Shoshana, 1999. "On the Age at Marriage: Theory and Evidence from Jews and Moslems in Israel," CEPR Discussion Papers 2209, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
- 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.
- J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
References
References listed on IDEASPlease report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
- Grossbard-Shechtman, Shoshana & Neuman, Shoshana, 1998.
"The Extra Burden of Moslem Wives: Clues from Israeli Women's Labour Supply,"
CEPR Discussion Papers
1807, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
- 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.
- Bergstrom, T. & Bagnoli, M., 1990.
"Courtship as a Waiting Game,"
Papers
90-12, Michigan - Center for Research on Economic & Social Theory.
- 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.
- Bergstrom, T. & Bagnoli, M., 1991. "Courtship as a waiting game," The Warwick Economics Research Paper Series (TWERPS) 386, University of Warwick, Department of Economics.
- Bergstrom, T. & Bagnali, M., 1991. "Courtship as a Waiting Game," Papers 91-3, Michigan - Center for Research on Economic & Social Theory.
- Mark Bagnoli & Ted Bergstrom, . "Courtship as a Waiting Game," Papers _030, University of Michigan, Department of Economics.
- Benham, Lee, 1974. "Benefits of Women's Education within Marriage," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(2), pages S57-S71, Part II, .
- Bergstrom, T. & Schoeni, R., 1992.
"Income Prospects and Age at Marriage,"
Papers
92-10, Michigan - Center for Research on Economic & Social Theory.
- Ted Bergstrom & Robert Schoeni, 1996. "Income prospects and age-at-marriage," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 9(2), pages 115-130, June.
- Bergstrom, Ted & Schoeni, Robert F, 1996. "Income Prospects and Age-at-Marriage," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 9(2), pages 115-30, May.
- Bergstrom, T & Schoeni, R-F, 1996. "Income Prospects and Age-at-Marriage," Papers 96-18, RAND - Reprint Series.
- Keeley, Michael C, 1977. "The Economics of Family Formation," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 15(2), pages 238-50, April.
- Gary S. Becker, 1974.
"A Theory of Marriage: Part II,"
NBER Chapters,
in: Marriage, Family, Human Capital, and Fertility, pages 11-26
National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
- Becker, Gary S, 1974. "A Theory of Marriage: Part II," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(2), pages S11-S26, Part II, .
- Kenny, Lawrence W, 1983. "The Accumulation of Human Capital during Marriage by Males," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 21(2), pages 223-31, April.
- Zhang, Junsen, 1995. "Do men with higher wages marry earlier or later?," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(2), pages 193-196, August.
- 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 527-44, June.
- repec:fth:coluec:443 is not listed on IDEAS
- Wong, Yue-chim, 1986. "Entrepreneurship, Marriage, and Earnings," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 68(4), pages 693-99, November.
- Matsushita, Keiichiro, 1989. "Economic Analysis of Age at First Marriage," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 2(2), pages 103-119.
- Becker, Gary S, 1973. "A Theory of Marriage: Part I," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(4), pages 813-46, July-Aug..
Citations
Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.Cited by:
- Alessandro Balestrino & Cinzia Ciardi, 2007.
"Social Norms, Cognitive Dissonance and the Timing of Marriage,"
CESifo Working Paper Series
2068, CESifo Group Munich.
- Balestrino, Alessandro & Ciardi, Cinzia, 2008. "Social norms, cognitive dissonance and the timing of marriage," The Journal of Socio-Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 2399-2410, December.
- Nicolas Gérard Vaillant & François-Charles Wolff, 2010.
"Positive and negative preferences in human mate selection,"
Working Papers
hal-00455160, HAL.
- 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.
- 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," The Journal of Socio-Economics, Elsevier, vol. 37(2), pages 657-671, April.
- 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.
Lists
This item is not listed on Wikipedia, on a reading list or among the top items on IDEAS.Statistics
Access and download statisticsCorrections
When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:40:y:1999:i:2:p:179-193For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (Wendy Shamier).
If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.
If references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form.
If the full references list an item that is present in RePEc, but the system did not link to it, you can help with this form.
If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.
Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

