How Does Matching Uncertainty Affect Marital Surplus? Theory and Evidence from China

Abstract

Information quality affects matching and marital outcomes. We show in a simple two-dimensional matching model that a noisier cue for one trait leads to a shift in sorting tradeoff toward the other, lowers average welfare but the impact is asymmetric. To test the predictions, we explore the repeal of mandatory premarital health examinations in China. The repeal, increasing health cue noise, is found to have reduced postmarital subjective well-being mainly through a reduction in child health associated with decreased sorting by health. The deterioration was particularly strong for women and the poor, suggesting entrenched inequality by gender and wealth.

Keywords: Premarital Health Examination, Subjective Well-being, Assortative Matching, Sorting Tradeoff, Inequality

JEL Classification: J12, J13, I18