Ethnic differences in transition to first marriage in Iran: the role of marriage market, women's socio-economic status, and the process of development

Fatemeh Torabi, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM)

This paper using data from the 2000 Iran Demographic and Health Survey and a range of time-varying district-level contextual information derived from 1986 and 1996 censuses of Iran applies a discrete time hazard model to study ethnic differences in women’s transition to first marriage. The model specification accounts for both spatial and temporal changes in the socio-economic context of transition to marriage. We found ethnic-specific responses on women’s marriage timing to changes in the socio-economic context during the past three decades. Some ethnic groups appear to be less resilient to change despite sharing similar changes in their socio-economic context.