Marriage Market Competition and Labor Supply

Demid Getik () and Joseph Pickens ()
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Demid Getik: University of Durham
Joseph Pickens: United States Naval Academy

No 2026_10, Department of Economics Working Papers from Durham University, Department of Economics

Abstract: This paper examines how marriage market prospects influence decisions related to labor supply. Using U.S. microdata, we construct a novel and granular measure of marriage-market tightness. To address endogeneity from demographic mobility or labor-market shocks, we implement a Bartik-style instrument, approximating local population changes with national demographic shifts. We show that competition has heterogeneous effects across gender and education groups. For college-educated single men, greater competition increases hours worked and income. For non-college-educated single men, competition increases participation in the labor market, while the opposite holds for their female counterparts.

Keywords: marriage markets; labor supply; labor force participation; American Community Survey (ACS); Bartik instrument (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J12 J21 J22 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-07
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