Postponement or Abandonment of Marriage? Evidence from Hong Kong
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3014352 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Odalia Ming Hung Wong (0000-0002-9865-0794, Hong Kong Baptist University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2003 |
| Volume | 34 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 531-554 |
| Publication date | 2003-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Comparative Family Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0047-2328 • E-ISSN: 1929-9850 |
| Publisher | University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.3138/jcfs.34.4.531 |
| OpenAlex | W2603005578 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 24 |
This paper examines whether the rise in the age at first marriage among women observed across many countries in the post-war era reflects postponement or abandonment of marriage. On both theoretical and empirical grounds, we reject the oft-cited Economic Independence hypothesis, which argues that rising educational attainment and employment among women have weakened the rationale for marriage, leading more women to forego marriage. Instead, using a human capital approach, we argue that rising educational and economic opportunity would lead women to postpone, but not abandon, marriage in order to complete more human capital investment early in the life course. Empirical analysis applied to an original data set for Hong Kong women broadly supports our hypothesis. Specifically, the use of hazard analysis shows that educational and career attainment among women in our sample reduce their marriage rates, but this effect tends to diminish over the life course. This result is further supported by applying survey analysis on the same sample. Specifically, women with higher educational attainment and career attainment actually expressed a stronger desire for marriage, albeit at a late age
Abandonment (legal) · Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Educational attainment · Empirical evidence · Human capital · Labour economics · Political science · Postponement · Sample (material) · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving
Caveats and criteria
The Suffocation of Marriage
(Un)married with children? Exploring marriage between parities in Hong Kong
An analysis of factors affecting homeownership
Housing costs, self‐employment, and fertility
The impact of work on marriage in three cultures
Understanding Sheng Nu ('Leftover Women)
The Distribution by Age of the Frequency of First Marriage in a Female Cohort
Event History Analysis in Demography
How We Live
Young Women’s Transition to Marriage
The influence of women’s work opportunities on marriage rates
Premarital socioeconomic roles and the timing of family formation
Changes in fertility rates and family size in response to changes in age at marriage, the trend away from arranged marriages, and increasing urbanization
The Influence of School Enrollment and Accumulation on Cohabitation and Marriage in Early Adulthood
The Process of Entry into First Marriage
Changes in American Marriage, 1972 to 1987
Marriage Trends in America
A Treatise on the Family
Bluestockings, Spinsters and Pedagogues
The Role and Status of Women and the Timing of Marriage in Five Asian Countries
Later Marriages or Fewer? Changes in the Marital Behavior of Japanese Women
Beyond Separate Spheres
Family Background, School and Early Marriage
Causes and Consequences of Women's Employment Discontinuity, 1967-1973
Marriage Timing of Chinese American and Japanese American Women
The Gender Division of Labor in Two-Earner Marriages
Women's Employment and the Gain to Marriage
Married Women's Employment over the Life Course
Human Capital Investments or Norms of Role Transition? How Women's Schooling and Career Affect the Process of Family Formation
Sex Differences in the Entry Into Marriage
| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,41 |
| Citation span | 2009 - 2021 (13) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |