A Cohort Analysis of the Transition to First Marriage among Taiwanese

This study analyzes the trends in timing of entry into first marriage among Taiwanese. Applying the life table method, the variations in marriage timing associated with educational attainment and ethnic background are also examined across birth cohorts. The data used in this study come from the Taiwan Social Change Survey project. A comparison between birth cohorts shows that early and universal marriage has shifted toward late and less marriage, a trend being particularly salient among younger Taiwanese. Consistent with expectations, educational attainment is negatively associated with mean age at first marriage. However, the rapid increase in age at marriage and the decreasing proportion of ever-marrying of higher educated women and lowest educated men actually pinpoints a marriage market mismatched in Taiwan. Regardless of gender, Chinese mainlanders were most likely to postpone their marriages than other ethnic groups. Although many female aboriginals were already married in their early twenties, the majority of their male counterparts were staying single in the same age group.