Educational and Income Assortative Marriage Previous studies on assortative mating exam- underlying the economic model of marriage ined education and income separately.It is (Becker,1981)that individuals make rational unclear how these two variables work together marriage decisions and marry only if the utility As I elaborate later,drawing on an"uneven and of marriage exceeds the utility of remaining stalled gender revolution"perspective(England, single.It posits that individuals balance unequal 2010,p.149)and status exchange theory (Davis, traits through exchange to maximize their gains 1941;Merton,1941),I hypothesize that hus- from marriage (Davis,1941;Merton,1941). bands'income advantage over their wives would Hence,when women marry down in education be more apparent among couples in which the (i.e.,marry men whose education is lower than wife has an education level surpassing or equal their own),they may marry up in income (i.e., to that of the husband. marry men whose income is higher than their An "uneven and stalled gender revolution" own).Such balance between more-educated perspective(England,2010)posits that progress wives and higher earning husbands should be toward gender equality has been uneven welcomed by both men and women choosing Change in heterosexual relationships has been marital partners.From women's perspective, much more limited when compared with gender when searching for a spouse in a pool of change in the world of paid work and education. less-educated men,women have more to gain For example,men are still expected to propose if they choose men with higher incomes.After marriage (Sassler Miller,2011),and the all,men do not need equivalent levels of edu- vast majority of women take their husbands' cation to have higher incomes than women. surnames (Goldin Shim,2004).Mate pref- Even women who work full-time tend to earn erences are still gendered such that women less than men of comparable or less educa- have a stronger preference for income than men tion (Institute for Women's Policy Research, (Hitsch,Hortacsu,Ariely,2010).In addition, 2015).From men's perspective,although men although men value potential wives'economic have placed more importance on the financial roles more today than they did in the past(Buss. prospects of a potential spouse over time(Buss Shackelford,Kirkpatrick,Larsen,2001),they et al.,2001),they may value women's high still appear to hesitate to choose women whose status only up to the point when women's status status exceeds their own status (England,2011; exceeds their own status (Bertrand et al.,2015; Graf Schwartz.2011). England,2011;Graf Schwartz,2011).For The "uneven and stalled gender revolution" example,a speed dating study found that men perspective also points out that the progress did not value women's intelligence or ambition toward gender equality in paid work has recently when it exceeded their own (Fisman et al., stalled,as measured by changes in women's 2006).Psychology experiments showed that labor force participation,gender pay gap,and men's self-esteem was lower when their part- occupational sex segregation since the 1990s ners succeeded than when their partners failed, (Blau et al.,2013;Blau Kahn,2007;England, whereas women's self-esteem was not affected 2010).Similarly,U.S.attitudes toward egali- by their partners'performance(Ratliff Oishi, tarian gender roles and the share of women 2013).Although these studies did not directly who keep their surnames after marriage have test men's reaction to their partners'education changed little since the 1990s(Cotter,Hermsen, or income,they suggest that men may avoid a Vanneman,2011;Goldin Shim,2004).This potential spouse who has both higher education stalling of progress toward gender equality sug- and higher income than themselves. gests that the norm against marriages in which Overall,the "uneven and stalled gender women have higher status than their husbands revolution"perspective (England,2010)and has changed little in recent decades. status exchange theory suggest the following In light of the rising female advantage in hypotheses: education,status exchange theory in the inter- Hypothesis 3a:The tendency for women to marry marriage literature provides a theoretical basis to up in income is greater among couples in which understand how individuals avoid status reversal the wife has more education than the husband in marriage via assortative mating (e.g.,Davis, than among couples in which the wife has less 1941;Gullickson,2006;Gullickson Fu,2010: education than the husband. Gullickson Torche.2014:Merton.1941).Sta- Hypothesis 3b:The greater tendency for women tus exchange theory shares the assumption to marry up in income when they marry downEducational and Income Assortative Marriage 3 Previous studies on assortative mating exam￾ined education and income separately. It is unclear how these two variables work together. As I elaborate later, drawing on an “uneven and stalled gender revolution” perspective (England, 2010, p. 149) and status exchange theory (Davis, 1941; Merton, 1941), I hypothesize that hus￾bands’ income advantage over their wives would be more apparent among couples in which the wife has an education level surpassing or equal to that of the husband. An “uneven and stalled gender revolution” perspective (England, 2010) posits that progress toward gender equality has been uneven. Change in heterosexual relationships has been much more limited when compared with gender change in the world of paid work and education. For example, men are still expected to propose marriage (Sassler & Miller, 2011), and the vast majority of women take their husbands’ surnames (Goldin & Shim, 2004). Mate pref￾erences are still gendered such that women have a stronger preference for income than men (Hitsch, Hortaçsu, & Ariely, 2010). In addition, although men value potential wives’ economic roles more today than they did in the past (Buss, Shackelford, Kirkpatrick, & Larsen, 2001), they still appear to hesitate to choose women whose status exceeds their own status (England, 2011; Graf & Schwartz, 2011). The “uneven and stalled gender revolution” perspective also points out that the progress toward gender equality in paid work has recently stalled, as measured by changes in women’s labor force participation, gender pay gap, and occupational sex segregation since the 1990s (Blau et al., 2013; Blau & Kahn, 2007; England, 2010). Similarly, U.S. attitudes toward egali￾tarian gender roles and the share of women who keep their surnames after marriage have changed little since the 1990s (Cotter, Hermsen, & Vanneman, 2011; Goldin & Shim, 2004). This stalling of progress toward gender equality sug￾gests that the norm against marriages in which women have higher status than their husbands has changed little in recent decades. In light of the rising female advantage in education, status exchange theory in the inter￾marriage literature provides a theoretical basis to understand how individuals avoid status reversal in marriage via assortative mating (e.g., Davis, 1941; Gullickson, 2006; Gullickson & Fu, 2010; Gullickson & Torche, 2014; Merton, 1941). Sta￾tus exchange theory shares the assumption underlying the economic model of marriage (Becker, 1981) that individuals make rational marriage decisions and marry only if the utility of marriage exceeds the utility of remaining single. It posits that individuals balance unequal traits through exchange to maximize their gains from marriage (Davis, 1941; Merton, 1941). Hence, when women marry down in education (i.e., marry men whose education is lower than their own), they may marry up in income (i.e., marry men whose income is higher than their own). Such balance between more-educated wives and higher earning husbands should be welcomed by both men and women choosing marital partners. From women’s perspective, when searching for a spouse in a pool of less-educated men, women have more to gain if they choose men with higher incomes. After all, men do not need equivalent levels of edu￾cation to have higher incomes than women. Even women who work full-time tend to earn less than men of comparable or less educa￾tion (Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2015). From men’s perspective, although men have placed more importance on the financial prospects of a potential spouse over time (Buss et al., 2001), they may value women’s high status only up to the point when women’s status exceeds their own status (Bertrand et al., 2015; England, 2011; Graf & Schwartz, 2011). For example, a speed dating study found that men did not value women’s intelligence or ambition when it exceeded their own (Fisman et al., 2006). Psychology experiments showed that men’s self-esteem was lower when their part￾ners succeeded than when their partners failed, whereas women’s self-esteem was not affected by their partners’ performance (Ratliff & Oishi, 2013). Although these studies did not directly test men’s reaction to their partners’ education or income, they suggest that men may avoid a potential spouse who has both higher education and higher income than themselves. Overall, the “uneven and stalled gender revolution” perspective (England, 2010) and status exchange theory suggest the following hypotheses: Hypothesis 3a: The tendency for women to marry up in income is greater among couples in which the wife has more education than the husband than among couples in which the wife has less education than the husband. Hypothesis 3b: The greater tendency for women to marry up in income when they marry down