Doctoral Dissertation Research: How Do Marriage Market Conditions Affect Entrance into Cohabitation vs. Marriage

University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC

Investigators

Abstract

This dissertation would investigate marriage market determinants of cohabitation and marriage using 1991-1995 data from the National Survey of Family Growth. The analysis uses characteristics of the labor market area (LMA), a group of counties defined by commuting patterns that generally constitute the spatial boundaries within which most individuals interact. Sex ratios and the economic characteristics of marriageable men in the area are expected to influence both cohabitation and marriage rates among never married women.