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Building on the growing importance of partner effects in stratification research, this study adopts a couple perspective on the division of paid labour in the family. It considers the role of educational heterogamy, and takes account of the family life cycle by means of the presence of (young) children. The importance of these two factors for women’s relative labour market participation is compared between Belgium and Sweden – two European countries that share socio-economic features but differ regarding labour market and social policies. Multinomial logistic Diagonal Reference Models are used to analyse the pooled cross-sectional data of the EU-SILC 2004-2008. Our results show that women’s relative labour market participation is less education-driven in Sweden than in Belgium, and it is more related to the couple effect of educational heterogamy and the life cycle effect of the presence of (young) children, confirming more egalitarianism and family friendliness in Scandinavia than in continental Europe.

Item does not contain fulltext The effect of educational differences between partners on marital quality and stability is commonly analysed using difference, or compound measures. This article considers the theoretical foundations for these approaches and examines an alternative approach, diagonal reference models (DRMs). The three methods are then compared empirically, using data on 629 married couples from the survey Child-Rearing and Family in the Netherlands. Difference measures show no effect on marital satisfaction, whereas compound measures and DRMs do show an effect. As DRMs also allow for the quantification of this effect, while being theoretically and methodologically appropriate, they are affirmed the best method. 14 p.

This paper focuses on husbands' and wives' party political identifications in combination. There is a high level of party political homogamy in Great Britain (i.e. spouses tend to share the same party political identification). Statistical analyses show that levels of homogamy vary according to strength of party political identification, parental homogamy, age, and marital status. Levels of party political similarity are also shown to differ between marriage and other social relationships, and between first marriages and remarriages. Attitudes towards homogamy are shown to vary with age. The implications of these findings for theories relating to the origins of homogamy and to the consequences of heterogamy are considered. Broadly speaking, the findings indicate that party political homogamy is a consequence of demographic constraints, utility-maximizing choices, and responses to cultural norms.

This article presents 41 educational heterogamy tables for 23 industrial nations after World War II. Countries differ in gross heterogamy rates and relative chances of heterogamy. Evidence is found in favour of a trend towards higher gross rates of heterogamy and towards more equal relative chances of heterogamy. Hypotheses on effects of economic and political factors are tested. The contribution these factors make to the explanation of relative heterogamy is smaller than found in studies on intergenerational mobility. Between countries more equal relative father-to-son occupational mobility chances go together with more equal relative chances of educational heterogamy. Within countries relative mobility chances are more equal than relative chances of heterogamy. All in all Lipset and Zetterberg's notion of general societal openness is confirmed, whereas Bourdieu's notion tblt mobilit~ d heterogamy are compensatory strategi~ · of reproduction is not upheld.