Abstract:
This paper evaluates Wilson’s (1987) argument that the race differential in the frequency of marriage results from a shortage of marriageable men in the African-American community. Previous investigators have approached this problem by measuring the local availability of eligible male marriage partners for black women. These studies have found a comparatively small but significant impact of the availability of marriageable black men on black women’s marriage rates. My analysis simplifies the problem by evaluating the effects of economic characteristics of young white and black men on their own marriage behavior since 1960. I use multiple standardization and decomposition methods to assess the impact of race differences in income, occupation, employment status, institutional residence, and education. I estimate that these factors can explain most of the race difference in marriage over the period as a whole.