The changing pattern of interracial marriage

Recent studies have demonstrated an increased occurrence of interracial marriages in the United States, indicating important shifts in intergroup relations. The effectiveness of traditional theoretical approaches in explaining who marries whom, however, remains problematic. Recently, exchange explanations (which have typically assumed that the black partner in the union exchanges educational and economic accomplishments for the higher "status" of the white spouse) have been replaced by progressive theories emphasizing a trend away from ascriptive and toward achievement norms. We extend this approach by predicting an economic and educational gap between spouses in interracial marriages when compared with racially homogamous marriages. Using the 1980 and 1990 Public Use Microdata Sample, we find continuing evidence that racial barriers in mate selection are weakening. Further, people who intermarry, regardless of race or gender, tend to have higher educational and economic status than those in homogamous marriages. There is still limited support for the kinds of social exchanges between spouses that were implied in earlier sociological theories. We conclude that (1) socioeconomic differentials are not always consistent with the exchange perspective and (2) that recent trends are not systematically eroding these socioeconomic differentials in mate selection.