Explaining the Flight of Cupid's Arrow: A Spatial Random Utility Model of Partner Choice Pour expliquer le vol de la flèche de Cupidon / un modèle d'utilité aléatoire du choix du partenaire

Spatial homogamy may be defined as follows: anyone may be attracted to anyone else, but near candidates are more attractive than distant candidates. In this article, we propose a model of partner choice, where homogamy is defined in terms of spatial, demographic, socioeconomic and cultural similarit...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of population 2012-11, Vol.28 (4), p.417-439
Main Authors: Haandrikman, Karen, van Wissen, Leo J. G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Bible
Cohabitation
Demography
Human Geography
Labor markets
Methodology of the Social Sciences
Political parties
Population Economics
Public Finance
Regional dialects
Social Sciences
Socioeconomics
Sociology
Spatial models
Workplaces
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Summary:Spatial homogamy may be defined as follows: anyone may be attracted to anyone else, but near candidates are more attractive than distant candidates. In this article, we propose a model of partner choice, where homogamy is defined in terms of spatial, demographic, socioeconomic and cultural similarity. A spatial choice model using random utility theory is formulated, taking into account a relaxation of the independence from the irrelevant alternatives property, as spatial alternatives are not independent of one another. We model partner choice given the characteristics of the chosen partner and a choice set of alternatives, using unique micro data on all new cohabiters in the Netherlands, linked to other relevant data sets. The model takes the spatial locations of potential candidates within a choice set into account, including an indicator for the spatial similarity between alternatives. We find that spatial homogamy is a vital component of partner matching, aside from and adding to the spatial effects in demographic, socioeconomic and cultural homogamy. Given a choice set of partners, the highest likelihood of a match occurs with a person who is born and lives near by, who is close in age, is in the same life stage and has the same marital status, who has the same educational and income level and the same labour market status, who speaks the same dialect and lives in a culturally similar residential area. The distance effect is most pronounced for those individuals with lower levels of education and those living in rural areas. L'homogamie spatiale peut être définie de la manière suivante : n'importe quelle personne peut être attirée par une autre, mais les candidats les plus proches sont plus attractifs que les candidats plus lointains. Dans cet article, un modèle du choix du partenaire est proposé, dans lequel l'homogamie est définie en termes de similarités spatiale, démographique, socio-économique et culturelle. Un modèle spatial de choix basé sur la théorie de l'utilité aléatoire est proposé, tenant compte d'un assouplissement de l'indépendance par rapport aux alternatives non pertinentes puisque les alternatives spatiales ne sont pas indépendantes l'une de l'autre. Le choix du partenaire est modélisé en tenant compte des caractéristiques du partenaire choisi et d'un ensemble d'alternatives de choix, en utilisant une base de données individuelles concernant tous les nouveaux cohabitants aux Pays-Bas appariée à d'autres bases de données pertinentes. L
ISSN:0168-6577
1572-9885
DOI:10.1007/s10680-012-9260-7