Sociability and the Timing of First Marriage

36 Pages Posted: 16 Jun 2012 Last revised: 9 May 2025

See all articles by Odelia Heizler-Cohen

Odelia Heizler-Cohen

Hebrew University of Jerusalem; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Nira Yacouel

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Ayal Kimhi

Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Department of Environmental Economics & Management; Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment; Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research

Abstract

This paper investigates, both theoretically and empirically, the effect of sociability on the age of marriage. Theoretically, a more sociable individual has higher chances of finding a suitable partner for marriage early in life, and hence is expected to marry earlier than an otherwise similar unsociable individual. On the other hand, a more sociable individual can afford to be more selective in choosing a mate and therefore will tend to postpone marriage until the most suitable partner is found. Using a survival model applied to Israeli data, we show that the first effect is dominant for relatively less sociable individuals, whereas the second effect is dominant for relatively more sociable individuals. Hence, people with intermediate levels of sociability will tend to marry earlier. In an era of increasing individualism and decreasing sociability, these results have important implications for marriage rates, fertility, housing markets and financial markets.

Keywords: social networks, age of marriage

JEL Classification: J12, D10

Suggested Citation

Heizler-Cohen, Odelia and Yacouel, Nira and Kimhi, Ayal, Sociability and the Timing of First Marriage. IZA Discussion Paper No. 6607, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2085194

Odelia Heizler-Cohen (Contact Author)

Hebrew University of Jerusalem ( email )

Mount Scopus
Jerusalem, Jerusalem 91905
Israel

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Nira Yacouel

affiliation not provided to SSRN ( email )

Ayal Kimhi

Hebrew University of Jerusalem - Department of Environmental Economics & Management ( email )

Rehovot, 76100
Israel

HOME PAGE: http://departments.agri.huji.ac.il/economics/kimhi.html

Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment ( email )

Jerusalem
Israel

Shoresh Institution for Socioeconomic Research ( email )

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