The Dynamics of Assortative Mating in Germany

Abstract

This paper examines the patterns of educational assortative mating in East and West Germany. In the literature it is well known that individuals do not mate randomly according to social and cultural traits. Marrying within a socio-economic group can lead to polarization and exacerbating economic inequality. In the US, there is a compelling body of evidence indicating that the educational similarity of spouses has steadily increased during the at least last four decades. Yet, for Germany little is known about actual patterns of educational assortative mating. Our empirical analysis for Germany shows that educational assortative mating has increased significantly for East and West Germany during the last 15 and 30 years, respectively. To control for increases in the educational attainment we apply different log-linear methods. The results point out that the observed changes in assortative mating in East and West Germany might be explained by changes in partner preferences regarding education. However, these changes differ by educational group. An other reason could be found in changes in the dificulty of crossing educational barriers.