Education & Matrimony

Does education affect whether newly married couples live in joint or nuclear households?

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Answer

Direct answer

The cited studies cannot establish that education causes newlyweds to choose a nuclear rather than a joint household. Education overlaps with employment, residence, resources and family circumstances; household data collected at one point cannot isolate the effect.

The co-residence paper uses historical census samples, including Pakistan in 1973, and studies fertility rather than a current newlywed housing transition. Housing costs, migration and care needs should be discussed directly instead of inferred from qualifications.

Evidence

Sources used

Academic Research · 2017

Living with own or husband's mother in the household is associated with lower number of children: a cross-cultural analysis

Royal Society Open Science

Published 2017, using historical IPUMS census samples. Pakistan: 1973 census, 68,086 married women aged 15–34 living with a spouse; 41.21% lived with his mother. Not DHS or current newlywed data.

Source checked:

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National Survey · 2019

Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey 2017–18

National Institute of Population Studies and The DHS Program

National survey evidence for marriage timing, women, households and health indicators.View source
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