Some insights about gender gaps in matching patterns by age and educational attainment. A case study of Spanish intermarriage

Over the last decades the socio-demographic dynamics have experienced dramatic changes in Spain. One of them is linked with the recent arrival of important flows of foreign population and the consequences that such arrival could have in changing those dynamics, particularly in the union formation patterns and the marriage market. So, the aim of this paper is to examine trends in matching patterns by age and educational attainment of Spanish intermarriage, highlighting gender gaps. The data is drawn from the Spanish Marriage Register and the Labor Force Survey. Results show that intermarriage is not gender neutral. There is a peculiar pattern among Spanish men/Foreign women couples: have a higher incidence and are more age and educational heterogamous.