At the heart of Christianity lies the imperative to 'Love thy neighbour.' While it does not explicitly say 'Wed thy neighbour,' the concept of loving one's neighbor in a biblical sense often implies marriage. However, in a broader Christian context, marriage is not required for empathy and love.
The Study on Homophily in Marriage
A new paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research, titled 'Who marries whom? The role of segregation by race and class,' explores the sociological tendency of homophily—people associating with those similar to themselves. Authored by Benjamin Goldman, Jamie Gracie, and Sonya Porter, the study examines how this affects marriage patterns and inequality.
Key Findings on Assortative Mating
The researchers used linked U.S. census and tax data to analyze the marital status at age 30 of Americans born between 1980 and 1987, covering the years 2010 to 2017. They discovered that even in the 21st century, people tend to marry within their own race and class, with class measured by parents' income. Only 2.1% of Black Americans were married to a white spouse, and only 3.1% of individuals from the bottom income quartile married someone from the top quartile.
Geographic Proximity and Marriage
The study highlights that much of this sorting occurs because people marry those who live nearby. Using census tract data—areas with about 4,000 residents—the researchers found that two-thirds of couples lived within 50 census tracts of each other five years before marriage. This proximity suggests that 'wed thy neighbour' is more common than marrying a generic fellow American.
Implications for Inequality
If much inequality stems from such a commonplace occurrence as people marrying those similar to themselves, it challenges the narrative that inequality is solely a product of capitalist exploitation. Instead, it may be a natural outcome of social and geographic sorting. The study provides a nuanced perspective on how personal choices and geographic segregation contribute to economic disparities.
