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Educational assortative mating and income inequality in Denmark
Richard Breen1, Signe Hald Andersen
1Department of Sociology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA. richard.breen@yale.edu
Demography
|May 29, 2012
Summary
Changes in educational assortative mating increased income inequality in Denmark. These shifts were driven by evolving educational distributions among men and women, not by changing partner selection preferences.
Area of Science:
- Sociology
- Economics
- Demography
Background:
- Growing concern exists regarding educational assortative mating's potential to increase household income inequality.
- Denmark, known for low income inequality, experienced rising inequality and declining educational homogamy from 1987-2006.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between educational assortative mating and income inequality in Denmark.
- To determine the drivers of changes in income inequality related to educational pairing.
Main Methods:
- Utilized Danish register data covering the entire population's exact incomes.
- Analyzed trends in educational assortative mating and income inequality between 1987 and 2006.
Main Results:
- Educational assortative mating changes were found to increase income inequality.
- The primary drivers were shifts in the educational distributions of men and women, not changes in partner selection propensities.
Conclusions:
- Changes in educational distributions significantly impact income inequality through assortative mating.
- Policy and social trends affecting educational attainment levels are crucial for understanding income disparity.
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