Assortative Mating and Income Inequality in Taiwan: A Quantile Regression Approach

Sociologists are inclined to predict that increases in homogamy may increase inequality among families, but the existing literature is short on such empirical evidence. Using quantile regression, which allows us to detect if effects of income determinants may vary across different economic strata, we examine whether, how, and to what extent “like marrying like” may lead to the increased inequality in Taiwan’s income stratification. Our findings indicate that homogamy – be it on educational attainment or on occupational status – exerts positive effects upon family income. The marginal effects of occupational homogamy are significantly higher at higher quantitles of the income distribution, whereas the differentials between lower and upper economic strata are negligible in the case of educational homogamy. Draft (February 24, 2003) _______________________ Paper prepared for presentation at the conference “Social Inequality, Family, and Intergenerational Transfer” of the Research Committee on Social stratification and Social Mobility of the International Sociological Association (ISA-RC28), held at the University of Tokyo, Japan, on March 1-3, 2003. The authors thank Ping-I Shih for research assistance.