The effects of Assortative Matching on Job and Marital Satisfaction through University Attendance

This paper examines how the decision to acquire higher education may affect job and marital satisfaction. We propose a theoretical model where individuals decide whether to attend university both for obtaining higher job satisfaction and for meeting potential partners. As the probability of marrying an educated partner increases (due to positive educational assortative matching), the average ability of university students falls, since more (low ability) students are willing to attend university. Two effects can be withdrawn: (i) average job satisfaction decreases, while (ii) marital satisfaction increases. We then test the model using the British Household Panel Survey for years 1996-2008, using a dynamic bivariate model. Consistent with the theoretical predictions, we find that higher education is correlated with lower average job satisfaction. In addition, the higher education of the partner increases marital satisfaction.