Free Choice from a Limited Supply. The Marriage Market in Two Dutch Provinces, 1840-1940
Free Choice from a Limited Supply. The Marriage Market in Two Dutch Provinces, 1840-1940

Summary/Abstract: In this article, we investigate partner selection in The Netherlands, in the period 1840-1939, with particular attention to local homogamy. Our multivariate models show that local homogamy is closely related to the size of the local marriage market. Also, illiteracy, low social status, high age at marriage and widowhood increase homogamy. Communities that were isolated by water or by the national border tended to be more homogamous. On the other hand, in-migrant men were very likely to marry a woman in another municipality. The presence of a railroad broke down the isolation of marriage markets. Finally, local homogamy declined in the late 19th and early 20th Century, which can probably be related to the increase of education, travel and communication.

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