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Access to higher education and the likelihood of being married

Author

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  • Karimi, Seyed M.
  • Taghvatalab, Golnaz

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the potential association of the likelihood of being married with access to higher education at college ages, considering a large-scale higher education expansion program in small and medium-sized counties during the 2000s in Iran. We focus on the country’s two major university systems that were mainly responsible for the expansion. We provide evidence that the expansion in one of the university systems was not significantly correlated with the underlying county-level trends. Matching detailed county-level Iranian university enrollment data to individual-level data from annual household surveys, we show that exposure to a university during college ages had a significant negative association with the likelihood of being married among 28–32-year-old individuals. Specifically, exposure to a university opening in the county of residence at ages 18–22 years was associated with up to a 5.9 percentage point decrease in the likelihood of being married at ages 28–32 years, depending on the university system, one’s gender, and the study period.

Suggested Citation

  • Karimi, Seyed M. & Taghvatalab, Golnaz, 2020. "Access to higher education and the likelihood of being married," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 22-33.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:quaeco:v:78:y:2020:i:c:p:22-33
    DOI: 10.1016/j.qref.2020.04.004
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Access to higher education; University opening; Higher education expansion; Likelihood of being married; Iran.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I23 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Higher Education; Research Institutions
    • I26 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Returns to Education
    • I28 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Government Policy
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination

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