Health and socio-demographic conditions as determinants of marriage and social mobility

Marco Breschi, Matteo Manfredini and Stanislao Mazzoni
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Marco Breschi: Università degli Studi di Sassari (UniSS)
Matteo Manfredini: Università degli Studi di Parma (UNIPR)
Stanislao Mazzoni: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)

Demographic Research, 2010, vol. 22, issue 33, 1037-1056

Abstract: This paper makes use of data collected from military registers and marriage certificates for the population of Alghero, in Sardinia, for the period 1866-1925, with the aim of investigating the role played by physical characteristics and health in the possibility of social mobility through marriage. Our findings demonstrate that, whereas physical defects and ill health had little impact on the chances of marrying an illiterate woman, these factors did have a negative effect on the chances of marrying a woman who was literate. In a context in which intergenerational social mobility remained limited and the family had the final say on marriage arrangements, it is likely that only healthy individuals were selected for marriages regarded as strategic for the purposes of forming and strengthening family alliances, and/or improving the social position within the community.

Keywords: health; marriage; Sardinia; social mobility (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J1 Z0 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:dem:demres:v:22:y:2010:i:33

DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2010.22.33

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