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College as a Marriage Market

Author

Listed:
  • Lars Kirkebøen
  • Edwin Leuven
  • Magne Mogstad
  • Jack Mountjoy

Abstract

College graduates tend to marry each other. We use detailed Norwegian data to show that strong assortativity further arises by institution and field of study, especially among high earners from elite programs. Admission discontinuities reveal that enrollment itself, rather than selection, primarily drives matching by institution and field among the college-educated, and that these matches can be economically consequential. Elite professional programs, in particular, propel marginally admitted women into elite household formation: they earn substantially more themselves and match with higher-earning elite partners, becoming much more likely to join the top percentiles of household earnings while also reducing fertility. Marginal elite admission for men yields no change in partner earnings or fertility. College matchmaking effects are concentrated among students who attend the same institution at the same time, and are larger when opposite-sex peers are more abundant, indicating search costs in the marriage market.

Suggested Citation

  • Lars Kirkebøen & Edwin Leuven & Magne Mogstad & Jack Mountjoy, 2021. "College as a Marriage Market," NBER Working Papers 28688, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:28688
    Note: ED LS
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    Cited by:

    1. Artmann, Elisabeth & Ketel, Nadine & Oosterbeek, Hessel & van der Klaauw, Bas, 2021. "Field of study and partner choice," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    2. Martin Nybom & Erik Plug & Bas van der Klaauw & Lennart Ziegler, 2022. "Skills, Parental Sorting, and Child Inequality," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 22-098/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    3. Lippmann, Quentin & Surana, Khushboo, 2025. "The evolution of partner preferences: Evidence using matrimonial ads from Canada, France, India and the United States," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    4. Liang Zhang & Xiangmin Helen Liu, 2025. "Degrees of Connection: Examining the Relationships Among College Majors, Marriage, and Spouse Selection," Research in Higher Education, Springer;Association for Institutional Research, vol. 66(6), pages 1-28, September.
    5. Arenas, Andreu & Calsamiglia, Caterina, 2022. "Gender Differences in High-Stakes Performance and College Admission Policies," IZA Discussion Papers 15550, IZA Network @ LISER.
    6. Benjamin Goldman & Jamie Gracie & Sonya R. Porter, 2024. "Who Marries Whom? The Role of Segregation by Race and Class," Working Papers 24-30, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    7. Quentin Lippmann & Khushboo Surana, 2022. "The Hierarchy of Partner Preferences," Discussion Papers 22/08, Department of Economics, University of York.
    8. Victor Lavy & Yoav Goldstein, 2022. "Gifted Children Programs’ Short and Long-Term Impact: Higher Education, Earnings, and the Knowledge Economy," NBER Working Papers 29779, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    9. Nibbering, Didier & Oosterveen, Matthijs & Silva, Pedro Luís, 2022. "Clustered Local Average Treatment Effects: Fields of Study and Academic Student Progress," IZA Discussion Papers 15159, IZA Network @ LISER.
    10. Ghazala Azmat & Jack Britton, 2024. "Labour Market Returns to Higher Education," Sciences Po Economics Publications (main) hal-04709561, HAL.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure

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