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Only-child matching penalty in the marriage market

Keisuke Kawata & Mizuki Komura

Journal of Demographic Economics2025https://doi.org/10.1017/dem.2025.10011article
ABDC B
Weight
0.50

Abstract

This study explores the marriage matching of only-child individuals and the related outcomes. Specifically, we analyze two aspects: First, we investigate the marriage patterns of only children, examining whether people choose mates in a positive or negative assortative manner regarding only-child status. We find that, along with being more likely to remain single, only children are more likely to marry another only child. Second, we measure the matching premium or penalty as the difference in partners’ socioeconomic status between only-child and non-only-child individuals, where socioeconomic status is approximated by years of schooling. Our estimates indicate that among women who marry an only-child husband, only children are penalized, as their partners’ educational attainment is 0.63 years lower. Finally, we discuss the potential sources of this penalty in light of our empirical findings.

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https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/dem.2025.10011

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@article{keisuke2025,
  title        = {{Only-child matching penalty in the marriage market}},
  author       = {Keisuke Kawata & Mizuki Komura},
  journal      = {Journal of Demographic Economics},
  year         = {2025},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/dem.2025.10011},
}

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Only-child matching penalty in the marriage market

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Evidence weight

0.50

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20
M · momentum0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

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