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Mixed marriages between immigrants and natives in Spain: The gendered effect of marriage market constraints

Author

Listed:
  • Amparo González-Ferrer

    (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC))

  • Ognjen Obućina

    (Institut National d'Études Démographiques (INED))

  • Clara Cortina

    (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)

  • Teresa Castro Martín

    (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC))

Abstract

Background: Spain has become an important immigrant destination relatively recently. Marriages between natives and immigrants are among the most important agents of social and cultural change in contemporary Spanish society. Objective: This study’s aim is to analyse the propensity to enter mixed-nativity marriages among both natives and immigrants in Spain, focusing on the roles played by both individual and marriage market characteristics. Methods: The study combines data from the National Immigrant Survey (2007) and the Marriages Register (2008). Multivariate analysis is based on multinomial logistic regression, with an event history approach for immigrants and cross-sectional approach for natives. Results: Immigrant groups, and particularly immigrant men, differ considerably in their propensity to intermarry. Education is positively associated with exogamy among immigrant men but is not an important predictor of intermarriage among immigrant women. By contrast, the marriage market structure is more important for immigrant women than men. The analysis for natives shows only limited support for the exchange hypothesis. Educational exchange can be observed in the mixed marriages of native women with some immigrant groups but is observed much less often for native men. Age difference within the couple is more frequently consistent with some sort of exchange between immigrant and native partners. Conclusions: Our results suggest that there is not one marriage market but several for different groups and that the patterns of native/immigrant marriage in Spain are strongly gendered. Contribution: This is the first study on intermarriage in Spain to look at both natives and immigrants.

Suggested Citation

  • Amparo González-Ferrer & Ognjen Obućina & Clara Cortina & Teresa Castro Martín, 2018. "Mixed marriages between immigrants and natives in Spain: The gendered effect of marriage market constraints," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 39(1), pages 1-32.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:39:y:2018:i:1
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2018.39.1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Jesús García-Gómez & Emilio Parrado, 2023. "Early Childbearing of Immigrant Women and Their Descendants in Spain," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(4), pages 1-26, August.
    2. Andrés F. Castro Torres & Edith Y. Gutierrez Vazquez, 2020. "Gendered and stratified family formation trajectories in the context of Latin American migration, 1950 to 2000," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2020-027, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    3. Anastasia Sinitsyna & Karin Torpan & Raul Eamets & Tiit Tammaru, 2021. "Overlap Between Industrial Niching and Workplace Segregation: Role of Immigration Policy, Culture and Country of Origin," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(2), pages 179-191.
    4. Albert Esteve & Annika Elwert & Ewa Batyra, 2023. "Gender Asymmetries in Cross‐National Couples," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 49(2), pages 379-396, June.
    5. Annegret Gawron & Nadja Milewski, 2024. "Migration, Partner Selection, and Fertility in Germany: How Many Children are Born in Mixed Unions?," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 40(1), pages 1-29, December.
    6. Albert Esteve & Coro Chasco & Antonio López-Gay, 2022. "Modeling Local Variations in Intermarriage," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-18, March.
    7. Eva Dziadula, 2022. "Match quality and divorce among naturalized U.S. citizens," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 89(1), pages 37-61, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    marriage; immigrants; natives; event history analysis; marriage market; Spain;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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