Educational Assortative Mating and Mortality in Finland: A Couple Perspective, 1987-2020

Cecilia Potente , Erasmus School of Health Policy and Management, Erasmus University
Lydia Palumbo, University of Turku
Marika Jalovaara, University of Turku

The implications of assortative mating for health and mortality have received little attention in the demographic literature. This relationship may operate through two mechanisms. The substitution mechanism argues that a loss in health caused by one partner’s lack of resources may be compensated by the other’s resources. The multiplication mechanism underlines the importance of both partners to better health conditions. We use Finnish full population register data spanning from 1987 to 2020 to examine how assortative mating influences health inequalities. Cox models show that the individual and the partner’s educational achievements significantly relate to individuals' death risk. Homogamous highly-educated couples have the highest survival advantage, while low-educated couples are the worst off. Heterogamous couples are in between. Overall, the results suggest the presence of a multiplication mechanism in Finland, which can be unfolded once we consider their joint effect and partners’ education and a more fine-tuned education classification.

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 Presented in Session P2. Health, Mortality, Ageing - Aperitivo