A new study has found that one explanation for the decline in marriage is a shortage of economically-attractive men for single women to marry. The study, which was published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, found that women’s potential husbands had an average income that was about 58% higher than the actual unmarried men currently available to unmarried women. They also were 30% more likely to be employed and 19% more likely to have a college degree. The researchers found that racial and ethnic minorities — especially black women, face serious shortages of potential marital partners — as do unmarried women in either low or high socioeconomic status. Lead author Daniel T. Richter, PhD, of Cornell University said about his findings, “Most American women hope to marry but current shortages of marriageable men–men with a stable job and a good income–make this increasingly difficult, especially in the current gig economy of unstable low-paying service jobs.” He continued, “Marriage is still based on love, but it also is fundamentally an economic transaction. Many young men today have little to bring to the marriage bargain, especially as young women’s educational levels on average now exceed their male suitors.”
Do unmarried women face shortages of partners in the US marriage market? https://t.co/gMaqCMDotX pic.twitter.com/GmkYrczJuA
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