The socioeconomic determinants of the age at first marriage among women in Hong Kong

Odalia M H WONG*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

    18 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This paper analyzes the determinants of the age at first marriage among women using an integrated approach incorporating social, familial, and economic factors. Hazard analysis was applied to an original data set for Hong Kong containing 1,024 observations compiled on the basis of a household survey with respondents selected by random sampling. Our findings support the human capital hypothesis, which predicts that women with higher educational attainment and stronger career commitment tend to marry later. In addition, we find that social and family background characteristics are also important determinants of the age at first marriage, including how strongly traditional values and ties to the natal family are held by the women.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)529-550
    Number of pages22
    JournalJournal of Family and Economic Issues
    Volume26
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Dec 2005

    Scopus Subject Areas

    • Social Psychology
    • Economics and Econometrics

    User-Defined Keywords

    • Age at first marriage
    • Hazard analysis
    • Hong Kong
    • Socioeconomic determinants

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