Marriage and the City: Search frictions and sorting of singles

P.A. Gautier, M. Svarer, C.N. Teulings

Research output: Contribution to JournalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

This paper develops and tests a model where cities play an important role as marriage markets. The idea is simple. Cities are dense areas where singles can meet more potential partners than in rural areas. To enjoy those benefits, they are willing to pay a premium in terms of higher housing prices. Once married, the benefits from meeting more potential partners vanish and married couples move out of the city. Attractive singles benefit most from a dense market and are therefore more likely to move to the city. Those predictions are tested and confirmed with a unique Danish data set. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)206-218
Number of pages13
JournalJournal of Urban Economics
Volume67
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2010

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