Interrelations between Education and Timing of First Unions: The Case of Central and Eastern Europe

Francesco C. Billari, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Dimiter Philipov, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

The impact of education on women's union formation has long been studied by economic and sociological theories. In studies using micro-data, unions have been found to be triggered by the end of education. Mixed evidence has been found on the impact of the level of education (Blossfeld and Huinink, 1991). However, the potential endogeneity of educational choices and union formation has rarely been assessed. In this paper, we use two simultaneous hazard equations (Lillard, 1993) to assess such interrelations. In particular, we study Central and Eastern European countries, using micro-data from Fertility and Family Surveys (mostly focused on the period before the transition). Our results for women show that educational enrolment has a key impact on first union formation, but that also the level of education has a substantive impact as expected by Becker's theory. On the other hand, union formation in almost all countries triggers the end of education.