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The evolution of partner preferences: Evidence using matrimonial ads from Canada, France, India and the United States

Author

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  • Quentin Lippmann

    (AMSE - Aix-Marseille Sciences Economiques - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - AMU - Aix Marseille Université - ECM - École Centrale de Marseille - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Khushboo Surana

    (CMAP - Centre de Mathématiques Appliquées de l'Ecole polytechnique - Inria - Institut National de Recherche en Informatique et en Automatique - X - École polytechnique - IP Paris - Institut Polytechnique de Paris - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, IIT Kanpur - Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur)

Abstract

Using the text from matrimonial ads, we assemble a novel data set to describe the evolution of partner preferences over time and space. Analyzing ads published in Canada, France and India between 1950 and 1995, we show that stated preferences for economic criteria have fallen sharply in favor of personality traits in the two Western countries while they remain the most prevalent in India. Using ads covering various regions from the US and Canada in 1995, we show that personality traits are consistently more demanded than economic criteria. We provide evidence that these results are unlikely to be driven by the composition effects over time, role of parents or changing social norms. We show that the changes over time are particularly strong for women and accompany narrowing gender gaps in labor force participation in Western countries. We discuss the implications for understanding the evolution of assortative mating over time.

Suggested Citation

  • Quentin Lippmann & Khushboo Surana, 2025. "The evolution of partner preferences: Evidence using matrimonial ads from Canada, France, India and the United States," Post-Print hal-05069122, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05069122
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2025.106950
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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