SULCIS Working Papers, Stockholm University Linnaeus Center for Integration Studies - SULCIS
No 2010:8:
Ethnic Intermarriage among Immigrants: Human Capital and Assortative Mating
Barry R. Chiswick ()
and Christina A. Houseworth
Abstract: This paper analyzes the determinants of interethnic
marriages by immigrants in the United States. The dependent variable is
intermarriage across ethnic groups (on the basis of ancestry and country of
birth) and the inclusion of the explanatory variables is justified by a
simple rational choice economic model. A binomial logistic regression is
estimated using data from the 1980 US Census, the last Census where
post-migration marriages can be identified. Results show that the
probability of intermarriage increases the longer a migrant resides in the
U.S. and the younger the age at arrival. Both relationships can be
attributable to the accumulation of US-specific human capital and an
erosion of ethnic-specific human capital. Inter-ethnic marriages are more
likely between individuals with similar education levels, providing
evidence of positive assortative mating by education for immigrants. The
construction of the availability ratio for potential spouses from one’s own
group and group size using data from several Censuses provides a more
accurate measure of the marriage market. Intermarriage is lower the greater
the availability ratio and the larger the size of one’s own group.
Linguistic distance of the immigrant’s mother tongue from English
indirectly measures the effect of English language ability at arrival and
is found to be a significant negative predictor of intermarriage. Those who
report multiple ancestries and who were previously married are more likely
to intermarry.
Keywords: Immigrants; Marriage; Ethnicity/Ancestry; Country of Birth; (follow links to similar papers)
JEL-Codes: F22; J12; J15; J61; (follow links to similar papers)
35 pages, July 12, 2010
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- This paper is published as:
-
Chiswick, Barry R. and Christina A. Houseworth, (2011), 'Ethnic Intermarriage among Immigrants: Human Capital and Assortative Mating', Review of Economics of the Household, Vol. 9, June, No. 2, pages 149-180
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