Dating Preferences and Meeting Opportunities in Mate Choice Decisions

Michèle Belot and Marco Francesconi

Journal of Human Resources, 2013, vol. 48, issue 2

Abstract: Much empirical evidence shows that female and male partners look alike along a variety of attributes. It is, however, unclear how this positive sorting comes about because marriage is an equilibrium outcome arising from a process that entails searching, meeting, and choosing one another. This study takes advantage of unique data to shed light on the forces driving choices at the earliest stage of a relationship. Both women and men value physical attributes, such as age and weight, and reveal that their dating choices are assortative along several traits. Importantly, meeting opportunities have a substantial role in determining dating proposals.

Date: 2013
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Working Paper: Dating Preferences and Meeting Opportunities in Mate Choice Decisions (2011)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:48:y:2013:ii:1:p:474-508

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