Internal migration, marriage timing and assortative mating: a mixed-method study in China

We examine how rural-to-urban migration influences marriage timing and assortative mating by family origins using data from the 2012 Chinese Family Panel Studies and in-depth interviews conducted in Beijing. To account for potential selection bias, we compare marriage timing across migration status by holding all other variables at group-specific averages based on event history analysis and propensity-score matching analysis. Results from both approaches show that compared with rural locals, rural migrants marry later, and the negative effects are more pronounced for men, which may be attributed to the greater burden placed on grooms and their families for establishing a household in China. The migration effects are moderated by education and family backgrounds. The in-depth interviews illuminate the mechanisms through pressure and aspiration for career and consumption, uncertainties in life, the timing of education completion, and more liberal attitudes toward marriage in the receiving communities. For assortative mating, we show that rural migrants who are better endowed in human, social, and cultural capital are more likely to marry across birth place, hukou, or migration status.