Diferencias de género en la edad del primer matrimonio: una evidencia desde los modelos de búsqueda marital para Colombia

This study aims to establish how the decision to marry is affected by family socio-economic environment that favors the accumulation of human capital and the economic role transition to adulthood. It also evaluates whether gender differences in the characteristics of entry into marriage decrease as the differences are reduced in the economic status of men and women. To this end, a duration model of marital search is fit to assess whether these variables explain the decision of Colombian men and women to get married or begin de facto unions at a certain age. It is found that higher educational opportunities and job placement reduces the differences in marital behavior between men and women generating, in both cases, incentives to delay marriages as predicted by marital search models.