The efficient marriage market hypothesis : a direct test
Document Type
Other
Source Publication
Discussion paper (University of Hong Kong. School of Economics)
Publication Date
1-1-1995
Publisher
School of Economics, the University of Hong Kong
Abstract
This paper takes Becker's efficient marriage market hypothesis at face value and directly confront it with data from Hong Kong. The theory of optimal assignment provides a framework that allows us to develop an empirical model of spouse selection which resembles a Tobit model. This model will recover some of the parameters of the production function for marital output and can be used to address issues relating to positive or negative assortative matching as well as marginal product pricing in marriage markets. We also use a computer algorithm to solve the optimal assignment problem for the imputed marital outputs. The degree to which the actual pairing of husbands and corresponds to the optimal pairing provides a goodness-of-fit test of the efficient marriage market hypothesis.
Additional Information
Discussion paper (University of Hong Kong. School of Economics) ; no. 166 The same paper is presented at the 1996 Australasian Meeting of the Econometric Society, University of Western Australia, Perth, July 11, 1996. The conference paper is also published in M. McAleer, P. W. Miller, & C. Ong (Eds.), Econometric Society Australasian Meeting, 1996: Proceedings. Vol. 4, Microeconometrics. Perth: University of Western Australia.
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Lui, H.-K., & Suen, W. (1995). The efficient marriage market hypothesis: A direct test. Discussion paper (University of Hong Kong. School of Economics); no. 166. Hong Kong: School of Economics, the University of Hong Kong.