IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/pra/mprapa/99712.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Cupid and Psyche: Cognition and the Choice of the Partner

Author

Listed:
  • Marini, Annalisa

Abstract

The paper provides the first empirical evidence on the importance of cognition - numeric ability - in the choice of the partner. Using the British Household Panel Study Understanding Society, I estimate a structural model of marriage sorting on a representative sample of British couples. Results show that partners with similar numeric ability are attracted to each other. Cognition and physical characteristics are the most important attributes in marriage sorting. Personality traits and risk propensity are also relevant to various extents. Heterogeneous preferences across gender are found and results are robust to an alternative specification. Implications of mutual attractiveness in cognition for marriage dynamics are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Marini, Annalisa, 2017. "Cupid and Psyche: Cognition and the Choice of the Partner," MPRA Paper 99712, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 2020.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:99712
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/99712/1/MPRA_paper_99712.pdf
    File Function: original version
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. James P. Smith & John J. McArdle & Robert Willis, 2010. "Financial Decision Making and Cognition in a Family Context," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 120(548), pages 363-380, November.
    2. James P. Smith & John J. McArdle & Robert Willis, 2010. "Financial Decision Making and Cognition in a Family Context," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 120(548), pages 363-380, November.
    3. James Banks & Zoe Oldfield, 2007. "Understanding Pensions: Cognitive Function, Numerical Ability and Retirement Saving," Fiscal Studies, Institute for Fiscal Studies, vol. 28(2), pages 143-170, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Gabriele Doblhammer & Gerard J van den Berg & Thomas Fritze, 2013. "Economic Conditions at the Time of Birth and Cognitive Abilities Late in Life: Evidence from Ten European Countries," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(9), pages 1-12, September.
    2. Meta Brown & John Grigsby & Wilbert van der Klaauw & Jaya Wen & Basit Zafar, 2016. "Financial Education and the Debt Behavior of the Young," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 29(9), pages 2490-2522.
    3. Freise, Diana & Schmitz, Hendrik & Westphal, Matthias, 2022. "Late-career unemployment and cognitive abilities," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    4. Cobb-Clark, Deborah A. & Kassenboehmer, Sonja C. & Sinning, Mathias G., 2016. "Locus of control and savings," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 113-130.
    5. Teresa Bago d'Uva & Esen Erdogan Ciftci & Owen O'Donnell & Eddy van Doorslaer, 2015. "Who can predict their Own Demise? Accuracy of Longevity Expectations by Education and Cognition," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 15-052/V, Tinbergen Institute.
    6. Sulka, Tomasz, 2022. "Planning and saving for retirement," DICE Discussion Papers 384, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).
    7. Doblhammer, Gabriele & van den Berg, Gerard J. & Fritze, Thomas, 2011. "Economic conditions at the time of birth and cognitive abilities late in life: evidence from eleven European countries," Working Paper Series 2011:14, IFAU - Institute for Evaluation of Labour Market and Education Policy.
    8. Gerard J. vandenBerg & Dorly J.H. Deeg & Maarten Lindeboom & France Portrait, 2010. "The Role of Early-Life Conditions in the Cognitive Decline due to Adverse Events Later in Life," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 120(548), pages 411-428, November.
    9. Catalina Estrada‐Mejia & Ellen Peters & Nathan F. Dieckmann & Marcel Zeelenberg & Marieke De Vries & David P. Baker, 2020. "Schooling, numeracy, and wealth accumulation: A study involving an agrarian population," Journal of Consumer Affairs, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 648-674, June.
    10. Estrada-Mejia, Catalina & de Vries, Marieke & Zeelenberg, Marcel, 2016. "Numeracy and wealth," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 53-63.
    11. Doorley, Karina & Nolan, Anne, 2019. "The Determinants of Retirement Planning within Couples in Ireland," IZA Discussion Papers 12188, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Nolan, Anne & Doorley, Karina, 2019. "Financial Literacy and Preparation for Retirement," IZA Discussion Papers 12187, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Joanne W. Hsu & Robert Willis, 2013. "Dementia Risk and Financial Decision Making by Older Households: The Impact of Information," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 7(4), pages 340-377.
    14. Deborah A. Cobb-Clark & Sonja C. Kassenboehmer & Mathias G. Sinning, 2013. "Locus of Control and Savings," Ruhr Economic Papers 0455, Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Universität Dortmund, Universität Duisburg-Essen.
    15. Simion, Ștefania & Sulka, Tomasz, 2023. "Multidimensional cognitive ability, intermediate channels, and financial outcomes," DICE Discussion Papers 401, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf Institute for Competition Economics (DICE).
    16. Bahovec Vlasta & Barbić Dajana & Palić Irena, 2017. "The Regression Analysis of Individual Financial Performance: Evidence from Croatia," Business Systems Research, Sciendo, vol. 8(2), pages 1-13, September.
    17. repec:zbw:rwirep:0455 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Nolan, Anne & Whelan, Adele & McGuinness, Seamus & Maître, Bertrand, 2019. "Gender, pensions and income in retirement," Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number RS87, June.
    19. Gupta, Sumedha, 2018. "Impact of volunteering on cognitive decline of the elderly," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 12(C), pages 46-60.
    20. Lei, Xiaoyan & Liu, Hong, 2018. "Gender difference in the impact of retirement on cognitive abilities: Evidence from urban China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 46(4), pages 1425-1446.
    21. Bago d'Uva, Teresa & O'Donnell, Owen & van Doorslaer, Eddy, 2020. "Who can predict their own demise? Heterogeneity in the accuracy and value of longevity expectations☆," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 17(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cognition; Marriage Sorting; Personality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:99712. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    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 CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc 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 RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Joachim Winter (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/vfmunde.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.