Social and Economic Impacts of International Marriages in Europe
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Abstract
The effect of international marriage - a union between a country native and an immigrant - on social and family outcomes is endogenous due to the selection into marriage markets and non-random spousal choice. In this paper we use availability of cheap airline flights as region-specific instrumental variable that increased the probability of intermarriage in Europe. The two-stage least squares analysis applied to 1977–2006 IPUMS International Project Census micro data shows no significant difference in the family size or number of children between intermarried and same-nativity couples. However, it does reveal higher labor force participation rates and much lower marriage rates among mixed nationality couples.
Keywords
International marriage European Union Labor force participation CohabitationJEL Classification
J10 Demographic Economics F22 International Migration F61 Economic Impacts of GlobalizationNotes
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to Thomas Hyclak and Mengcen Qian, as well as Keshar Ghimire, the participants of 41st Eastern Economic Association Meeting and Lehigh University Economics Seminars for their insightful comments.
Compliance with Ethical Standards
Conflict of Interest
There are no potential conflicts of interest. All mistakes are our own.
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