Skewed Marriage Markets and Sex Ratios of Finnish People in their Twenties
Keywords:
sex ratios, mating markets, mating squeeze, family formation, childlessness, FinlandAbstract
This article studies variation in regional sex ratios in Finland and outlines potential
implications of the skewed sex ratios for family formation patterns. Difficulties in
finding a suitable partner are typically mentioned as one of the most important reasons
for remaining childless, and we explore if this reason is apparent structurally at the
regional macro level. We found significant variation in sex ratios in age-groups 18–30
at the regional and sub-regional levels. Of the whole 20–29-year old population in
Finland, almost 50 percent live in sub-region areas with a male surplus. As expected,
a higher proportion of men compared to women appears to increase fertility of women
in younger age groups. Contrary to expectations, high male-female ratios were not
related to higher proportion of women living with a partner
