Housewife, 'Gold Miss,' and Equal: The Evolution of Educated Women's Role in Asia and the U.S.

Abstract

The fraction of U.S. college graduate women who ever marry has increased relative to less educated women since the mid-1970s. In contrast, college graduate women in developed Asian countries have had decreased rates of marriage, so much so that the term “Gold Misses” has been coined to describe them. This paper argues that the interaction of rapid economic growth in Asia combined with the intergenerational transmission of gender attitudes causes the “Gold Miss” phenomenon. I present a simple dynamic model then test its implications using U.S. and Asian data on marriage and time use.

Keywords: marriage, education, female labor force participation, cultural transmission

JEL Classification: J12, D10, Z10