Send message to Author

Paper short abstract

This study examines how educational assortative mating shapes inequality in Indonesia. Using counterfactual simulations, it shows positive assortative mating raises top household incomes but widens gender gaps, while narrowing them at the bottom under shared disadvantage.

Paper long abstract

Assortative mating, defined as the systematic, non-random sorting of partners along traits such as education, is a fundamental mechanism by which social mobility and inequality are shaped within a generation. Much of the literature on assortative mating has focused on inequality between households, but assortative mating clearly has implications for the unequal distribution of resources within couples as well. Focusing exclusively on aggregate outcomes assumes household income is pooled and partners share equally in resources, overlooking well-documented intra-household disparities. This omission is particularly consequential in developing contexts where gender wage gaps remain substantial.

This study examines how educational assortative mating relates to both between- and within-household inequality in Indonesia, a setting characterised by rapid educational expansion alongside persistent gendered labour-market disparities. Using the most recent data from the Indonesia Family Life Survey and a counterfactual simulation approach, I compare observed within-household income outcomes with simulated scenarios in which partners are matched according to alternative rules (random allocation, perfect homogamy, or systematic hypogamy), holding marginal education distributions constant.

The results show that educational positive assortative mating is associated with higher household resources at the top of the education distribution but simultaneously widens gender income gaps, as men continue to dominate earnings even when equally educated. At the bottom, positive assortative mating reduces income gaps but within conditions of shared economic disadvantage. By moving the analytical lens inside households, the study reveals a structural trade-off between household income maximisation and women’s relative economic position.