Partner selection is a vital feature of human behavior with important consequences for individuals, families, and society. Hypergamy occurs when a husband’s earning capacity systematically exceeds that of his wife. We provide a theoretical framework that rationalizes hypergamy even in the absence of gender differences in the distribution of earnings capacity. Using parental earnings rank, a predetermined measure of earnings capacity that solves the simultaneity problem of matching affecting earnings outcomes, we show that hypergamy is an important feature of Norwegian mating patterns. A vignette experiment identifies gender differences in preferences that can explain the observed patterns.

中文翻译：

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重婚经济学

伴侣选择是人类行为的一个重要特征，对个人、家庭和社会都有重要影响。当丈夫的收入能力系统地超过妻子的能力时，就会发生过度婚姻。我们提供了一个理论框架，即使在收入能力分配中不存在性别差异的情况下，该框架也可以使超婚配合理化。使用父母收入排名，这是一种预先确定的收入能力衡量标准，可以解决影响收入结果的匹配的同时性问题，我们表明超配偶是挪威交配模式的一个重要特征。小插图实验确定了可以解释观察到的模式的偏好中的性别差异。