Occupation and Marriage in a Mexican Trading Community

The occupational choices are examined of married couples from a small town in Chiapas, Mexico. The pattern of occupation within households where both partners work is analyzed, using a simple economic model of preference for increased income and prestige. A hypothetical pattern of marriages and occupations is created and compared to the observed configuration. A probability distribution for the similarity of the two patterns is then constructed; this statistical test indicates that the similarity between them would be extremely unlikely to have occurred by chance. The conclusion is that the desire for increased income and prestige determines the pattern of occupation and marriage choices.