Past event
Department of Economics Seminar with Professor Gregory Clark, Southern Denmark University Assortative Mating and the Industrial Revolution: England, 1754-2021
Abstract: Using a new database of 1.7 million marriage records for England 1754-2021 we estimate assortment by occupational status in marriage. We find the underlying correlation of status between groom and bride is remarkably high at 0.8. This correlation is unchanged 1754-2021. Even before formal education and occupations for women, grooms and brides matched tightly on educational and occupational abilities. We show further that women contributed as much as men to important child outcomes. This implies strong marital sorting substantially increased the variance of social abilities in England. Pre-industrial marital systems typically involved much less marital sorting. Thus the development of assortative marriage in north-west Europe may play a role in the location and timing of the Industrial Revolution, through its effect on the supply of those with upper-tail abilities.