Not “when to marry” but “whether to marry”: effective singlehood of women in South Korea

Details

Supervisors

Rizzi, Ester Lucia

Faculty

Faculté des sciences économiques, sociales, politiques et de communication

Degree label

Master [120] en sciences de la population et du développement

Abstract

Using the 2008 KLoWF survey, a nationally representative sample of South Korean women, this master thesis investigates whether gender role attitudes are a significant determinant of lifelong singlehood, also called “effective singlehood” (meaning never have been married or in cohabitation). Logit models reveal that women with egalitarian gender role attitudes face a relatively greater risk to remain single. Risks were even higher when associated to a tertiary level of education. Other demographic of socio- cultural characteristics such as the age, the parent’s level of education, the number of siblings, the birth order, the type of place where women lived at about age 15 and attitudes toward marriage, are other determinants of union formation. Future research should help clarify the underlying processes leading to disparities in marriage decision and timing for South Korean women.