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Title: The Labor of Love: Occupational Education and the Transition to First Marriage
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. McClendon, David
Kuo, Janet
Raley, Kelly
The Labor of Love: Occupational Education and the Transition to First Marriage
Presented: New Orleans LA, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 2013
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Cohabitation; College Education; Education; Marriage; Occupations

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Explanations for the marriage gap by educational attainment in the US emphasize the economic and cultural attractiveness of a college degree on the marriage market. However, education may also shape the opportunities that men and women have to meet other college-educated partners, particularly in contexts with significant educational stratification. We focus on work—and the social ties it supports—and consider whether the educational composition of one’s occupation is important for marriage formation. Employing discrete-time event history methods using the NLSY-97, we find that occupational education is positively associated with transitioning to first marriage and with marrying a college-educated partner for women but not for men. This association does not vary by women’s own educational attainment and is not significant for entry into cohabitation. Our approach calls attention to an unexplored, indirect link between education and marriage that, we argue, helps explain why college-educated adults enjoy better marriage prospects.
Bibliography Citation
McClendon, David, Janet Kuo and Kelly Raley. "The Labor of Love: Occupational Education and the Transition to First Marriage." Presented: New Orleans LA, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 2013.