BACKGROUND During the 19th and early 20th centuries, large waves of international immigrants, often heterogeneous in terms of age and sex structure, arrived in the United States. Within a relatively short time, many of these immigrants were assimilated. While prior studies have identified an impact of the marriage squeeze on intermarriage, the role of gender is less known. METHODS We use data from the 1930 census to examine the role played by variation in the sex ratios of the six largest immigrant groups at the beginning of the 20th century on marital outcomes by sex. RESULTS Our analyses show that the probability of marrying outside one’s ethnic group in this period is strongly tied to local ethnic sex ratios. Marital outcomes are affected for both sexes, but sex ratios are found to be more influential on males marrying out of their ethnic group. While a surplus of one’s own sex increases the probability of exogamy for males, it is likely to increase the probability of being single for females. CONTRIBUTION Our findings highlight the importance of ethnic sex ratios in local marriage markets at a critical juncture of American immigration and its consequences. We focus on an understudied aspect of this process: gender differences in the association between sex ratios and marital assimilation. We show that marital decisions differed by sex and that the high levels of intermarriage in this period are more likely to be explained by unbalanced sex ratios for males than for females.

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20世纪初美国的同化与种族婚姻挤压：性别视角

背景技术在19世纪和20世纪初，大批国际移民涌入美国，这些移民通常在年龄和性别结构上各不相同。在相对较短的时间内，许多这些移民被同化了。虽然先前的研究已经确定了婚姻紧缩对通婚的影响，但性别角色却鲜为人知。方法我们使用1930年人口普查的数据来考察20世纪初六个最大的移民群体的性别比变化对按性别划分的婚姻结局所起的作用。结果我们的分析表明，这段时期内外族裔结婚的可能性与当地的种族性别比密切相关。男女的婚姻结局都受到影响，但发现性别比例对从其种族中结婚的男性影响更大。虽然过剩的性行为会增加男性外婚的可能性，但很可能会增加女性单身的可能性。贡献我们的发现凸显了在美国移民的紧要关头，种族性别比在当地婚姻市场中的重要性及其后果。我们专注于这个过程的一个尚未被研究的方面：性别比和婚姻同化之间的关联中的性别差异。我们表明，婚姻决定因性别而异，并且在这一时期，较高的通婚率更可能是由男性比女性的性别比例失衡所解释的。贡献我们的发现凸显了在美国移民的紧要关头，种族性别比在当地婚姻市场中的重要性及其后果。我们专注于这个过程的一个尚未被研究的方面：性别比和婚姻同化之间的关联中的性别差异。我们表明，婚姻决定因性别而异，并且在这一时期，较高的通婚率更可能是由男性比女性的性别比例失衡所解释的。贡献我们的发现凸显了在美国移民的紧要关头，种族性别比在当地婚姻市场中的重要性及其后果。我们专注于这个过程的一个尚未被研究的方面：性别比和婚姻同化之间的关联中的性别差异。我们表明，婚姻决定因性别而异，并且在这一时期，较高的通婚率更可能是由男性比女性的性别比例失衡所解释的。