Among the Karo Batak of North Sumatra, Indonesia, marriages between matrilateral cross cousins (impal) are the ideal, yet rarely occur. Further, ethnographic accounts reveal a stated aversion to impal marriage. These observations are consistent with Westermarck’s “negative imprinting” hypothesis if impal are cosocialized. We present analyses of postmarital residence patterns from two studies of...

This analysis joins the debate on how declines in marriage have shifted the composition of the unmarried and married populations in the United States, and how compositional shifts have affected nonmarital birth rates. Gray, Stockard, and Stone (2006) presented one model for compositional effects that Ermisch (2009) challenged with alternative statistical tests. I propose an alternative model fo...

We use data from pooled 2000-2004 Current Population Surveys to examine generational differences in cohabitation and marriage among men and women ages 20-34 in the U.S. Consistent with our expectation and in line with assimilation theory, levels of cohabitation rise across succeeding generations. In contrast, generational differences in marriage follow a curvilinear pattern such that those in t...

Background: Over the last three decades, China has undergone profound socioeconomic transformations and opening to the outside world. These transformations have induced significant changes and variations in sexual norms and behaviors and in the social context of sexual partnering. Age at marriage is increasing; premarital and extramarital sex are becoming increasingly common; and the demand and...

Social Security retirement benefits in the United States (US) reflect marital histories and lifetime earnings of current and former married couples. Focusing on the link between marital history and benefit eligibility, this article examines women's marital patterns over the past two decades. Using the 1990 and 2009 Marital History Modules to the Census Bureau's Survey of Income and Program Part...

In China in recent years, male live births have exceeded those of females by amounts far greater than those that occur naturally in human populations, a trend with significant demographic consequences. The resulting imbalance in the first-marriage market is estimated to be about 1 million males per year after 2010. These "excess" males were not easily accommodated in models with substantial cha...

Most studies on consanguinity have been conducted on contemporary populations and have focused on the prevalence and types of preferred intra-familial marriage. With its comprehensive birth, marriage and deaths records dating back to the late 17th century, and the legal bar on first cousin marriage removed in the mid-19th century, Sweden offers unique opportunities to examine the factors that d...

Most studies on consanguinity have been conducted on contemporary populations and have focused on the prevalence and types of preferred intra-familial marriage. With its comprehensive birth, marriage and deaths records dating back to the late 17th century, and the legal bar on first cousin marriage removed in the mid-19th century, Sweden offers unique opportunities to examine the factors that d...

There is an overwhelming tendency toward assortative matching on income and education on the marriage market. However, for women, greater income and education are often correlated with older age at first marriage, and therefore lower fertility. Using a bi-dimensional matching model with two factors, income and “reproductive capital,” I study the impact of career investments that delay marriage ...