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Marriage Markets

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The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics

Abstract

The term ‘marriage market’ refers to the application of economic theory to the analysis of the process that determines how men and women are matched to each other through marriage and how this process influences other choices including human capital investment and the allocation of marital surplus. The specific sub-topics in this article include a characterization of stable assignment in marriage, consideration of the effects of marriage allocations on distribution within marriage, discussion of the extent to which partners who marry have similar characteristics, and a review of results on marriage timing.

This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, 2nd edition, 2008. Edited by Steven N. Durlauf and Lawrence E. Blume

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Foster, A. (2008). Marriage Markets. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2637-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_2637-1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95121-5

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