Hypergamy and singlehood by social position in France since 1969

Milan Bouchet-Valat

Hypergamy and singlehood by social position in France since 1969
Between the reduction and inversion of gender differences
Suivre cet auteur Milan Bouchet-Valat
In Revue de l'OFCE Volume 160, Issue 1, January 2019, pages 5 to 45

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Couples in which the woman is more educated than her partner are now the majority in France: female hypergamy has been reversed. This article updates this result based on Labor Force Survey data, and shows a similar though less marked trend regarding occupational status: the proportion of women belonging to a social class (EGP schema) higher than their partner’s has increased from 13% in 1969 to 23% in 2016. No hypergamy is observed in terms of the social class of origin. We confirm the classical theory relating hypergamy to a gender-asymmetric distribution of singlehood. Although singlehood used to be more frequent among women with a higher status, this situation has disappeared or even reversed over time. The distribution of singles among women has become closer to that among men.
JEL: D19; J12; J16; J21; I21

Keywords

hypergamy
singlehood
couple
gender inequalities
partner choice

Milan Bouchet-Valat

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ISO 690		Copy BOUCHET-VALAT Milan, "Hypergamy and singlehood by social position in France since 1969. Between the reduction and inversion of gender differences", Revue de l'OFCE, 2019/1 (No 160), p. 5-45. URL: https://preprod.cairn-int.info/journal-revue-de-l-ofce-2019-1-page-5.htm
ISO 690		Copy BOUCHET-VALAT Milan, « Hypergamie et célibat selon le statut social en France depuis 1969. Une convergence entre femmes et hommes ? », Revue de l'OFCE, 2018/6 (N° 160), p. 5-45. DOI : 10.3917/reof.160.0005. URL : https://preprod.cairn.info/revue-de-l-ofce-2018-6-page-5.htm
MLA		Copy Bouchet-Valat, Milan. "Hypergamy and singlehood by social position in France since 1969. Between the reduction and inversion of gender differences", Revue de l'OFCE, vol. 160, no. 1, 2019, pp. 5-45.
MLA		Copy Bouchet-Valat, Milan. « Hypergamie et célibat selon le statut social en France depuis 1969. Une convergence entre femmes et hommes ? », Revue de l'OFCE, vol. 160, no. 6, 2018, pp. 5-45.
APA		Copy Bouchet-Valat, M. (2019). Hypergamy and singlehood by social position in France since 1969: Between the reduction and inversion of gender differences. Revue de l'OFCE, 160, 5-45. https://preprod.cairn-int.info/journal--2019-1-page-5.htm.
APA		Copy Bouchet-Valat, M. (2018). Hypergamie et célibat selon le statut social en France depuis 1969: Une convergence entre femmes et hommes ?. Revue de l'OFCE, 160, 5-45. https://doi.org/10.3917/reof.160.0005
DOI		Copy https://doi.org/10.3917/reof.160.0005

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