Lady and the Trump: Status and Wealth in the Marriage Market

No 690, Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance from Stockholm School of Economics

Abstract: We examine a relatively neglected aspect of intergenerational transmission of economic standing, namely culturally determined status markers and their valuation in the marriage market. We take nobility to be such a status marker. Using data on Swedish marriages, we test the hypothesis that nobility have a greater probability of marrying "up" in terms of wealth. We find a large and statistically significant positive effect for nobility. This finding has important implications for the intergenerational transmission of inequality, and for the longevity of the institution of nobility itself.

Keywords: Marriage; Status; Intergenerational Transmission; Nobility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J11 J12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: Written 2008-01-12
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Related works:
Working Paper: Lady and the Trump: Status and Wealth in the Marriage Market (2008)
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