Changes in Ethnic Marital Sorting: Evidence from the UK

Abstract

Recent evidence suggests that integration of ethnic minority groups in the UK, through marriage, requires a fundamental shift in underlying preferences for partner ethnicity. In this paper I analyse changes in ethnic marital sorting within the UK using an empirical measure of sorting that explicitly links observed marital patterns to underlying marital preferences. Using this measure I test the extent to which underlying preferences are stable across cohorts and disentangle the relative contributions of changing preferences and changing population supplies that are driving the changes in ethnic sorting patterns. I then outline the implied consequences for the future integration of ethnic minority groups.