The Role of Assortative Mating on Population Growth in Contemporary Developed Societies

Mike Murphy ()
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Mike Murphy: London School of Economics

A chapter in Agent-Based Computational Modelling, 2006, pp 61-84 from Springer

Abstract: Summary Assortative mating is a widespread feature of human behaviour, which has a number of suggested benefits. The question of whether it contributes to population growth in contemporary societies is considered using the micro simulation program SOCSIM. Ways of parameterising heterogeneous fertility and nuptiality, and the relationship of such parameters to those of both fathers and mothers are considered. The magnitude of the correlation between numbers of sibs of the partners is similar to that of the correlation between number of sibs of the mother and the number of her own children. Models that can generate such degrees of similarity are discussed. If continued for 250 years, populations with long-standing assortative mating, and with demographic parameter values that bound those found in practice would have fertility levels about 2% to 30% higher than those without assortative mating, and also earlier age at first marriage. Population size is between about 30% and 200% higher at the end of the period. I conclude that the effect of assortative mating in which the fertility backgrounds of spouses are positively correlated leads to higher population growth.

Keywords: Total Fertility Rate; Assortative Mating; Intergenerational Transmission; Marriage Market; Sibship Size (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2006
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:conchp:978-3-7908-1721-8_4

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DOI: 10.1007/3-7908-1721-X_4

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