The Changing Socioeconomic Gradient of First Union Formation Across Generations in Spain

Abstract

This paper addresses the relationship between socioeconomic conditions and first union formation in Spain by analyzing the influence of educational attainment and employment history on the transition to non-marital cohabitation and direct marriage, highlighting inter-generational and gender-specific trends over time. To this end, this contribution approaches a longitudinal gender perspective which applies an event-history-analysis competing-risk setting to data of the last available Fertility Survey (FS) conducted by the Spanish National Institute of Statistics in 2018. Results show that, among women, the positive educational gradient of first cohabitation reversed, while the negative educational gradient for marriage intensified across generations. Regarding the economic gradient remained stable across generations for marriage entries and is still central for entering cohabitation, even if is less relevant for women in the youngest birth cohorts. For men, the influence of having achieved tertiary education lose its strength over time with each successive generation, while the effect of employment history on both cohabitation and marriage has diminished for successive birth cohorts.