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Educational assortative mating and income inequality in Thailand

Author

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  • Sasiwimon Warunsiri PAWEENAWAT

    (Faculty of Economics, Thammasat University, Bangkok)

  • Lusi LIAO

    (Institute of Strategy Research for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area)

Abstract

This study examines the degree of educational assortative mating, its evolution, and its relationship with income inequality in Thailand using national labor force survey data from 1985 to 2016. Since the 1990s, Thailand shows a trend of decreasing educational homogamy, but there is evidence of continuing educational hypergamy in Thai households. Using the semiparametric decomposition method of DiNardo, Fortin and Lemieux (1996), the study finds that educational assortative mating has affected changes in household income inequality over time. Furthermore, there exists a negative relationship between income inequality and marital sorting with same education, which contradicts evidence found in developed countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Sasiwimon Warunsiri PAWEENAWAT & Lusi LIAO, 2023. "Educational assortative mating and income inequality in Thailand," JODE - Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 89(2), pages 283-298, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:ctl:louvde:v:89:y:2023:i:2:p:283-298
    DOI: 10.1017/dem.2022.9
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    Cited by:

    1. Federica Alfani & Fabio Clementi & Michele Fabiani & Vasco Molini & Enzo Valentini, 2024. "Does gender equality in labor participation bring equality? Evidence from developing and developed countries," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 67(1), pages 289-311, July.
    2. Sasiwimon Warunsiri Paweenawat & Lusi Liao, 2019. "“Gold Miss†or “Earthy Mom†? Evidence from Thailand," PIER Discussion Papers 110, Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research.
    3. Jacques Silber & Sasiwimon Warunsiri Paweenawat & Lusi Liao, 2022. "On the measurement of non-random mating and of its change over time," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 161-198, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Educational assortive mating; Income inequality; Thailand;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure

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