The Hierarchy of Partner Preferences

We assemble a unique data set of more than a million matrimonial ads to study the evolution of partner preferences. Using ads published in major news outlets from Canada, France and India from 1950 to 1995, we show that stated preferences for economic aspects of an ideal partner have fallen sharply in favour of personality traits in the two Western countries. This shift is particularly apparent after the late 1960s and more marked for women than for men. By contrast, in India, economic criteria have remained the most prevalent over time. We complement these results using data from 41 regional newspapers operating in various parts of the US and Canada in 1995. Across all the regions, we find that personality traits are consistently ranked among the most prevalent criteria, while economic aspects are the least mentioned. We provide evidence that these results are unlikely to be driven by the composition effects over time, choice of newspaper outlets, role of parents or changing social norms. We argue that these evolution reflect a hierarchy of partner preferences, whereby the demand for non-material needs rests on the satisfaction of material needs such as economic ones.