REVERSAL OF THE GENDER GAP IN EDUCATION AND ASSORTATIVE MATING: A COHORT ANALYSIS OF COUPLE'S FORMATION IN SPAIN

Abstract

The empirical and theoretical debate on the implications of the reversal of the gender gap in education (RGE) on the formation of couples remains open. This article, using quarterly Labour Force Survey microdata, analyses the types of unions formed in Spain for the cohorts born be-tween 1950 and 1988, a long-enough period to capture long-term trends. To discount differential exposure to the marriage market in a context such as Spanish, where the training expansion has been intense, log-linear models are applied. The main results reflect that female hypogamy is the type of union that grows the most. This growth is asym-metrical by couples: it occurs before among the most-qua-lified women, clearly associated with their incorporation to the labour market. If the barriers to overcoming certain edu-cational levels and the influence exerted by the RGE are considered, homogamy prevails as the first type of union.