Marriage Squeezes in Korean and Japanese Regions

Keita Suga, National Institute of Population and Social Security Research
Sungho Cho, Korean Institute for Health and Social Affairs

This study examines and compares marriage squeezes as a critical demographic factor for ultra-low fertility in Japanese and Korean regions for the period after fertility falls below replacement. We focus on the change after the 2010s when Korean birth cohorts of distorted sex ratios reached the age of the late 20s under the hypothesis that the abnormal sex ratio deteriorated only in Korean marriage and fertility. Because marriage matching obeys local phenomenon, we focus on regional marriage markets. Schoen's (1983) marriage squeeze indices for the first marriages in regions of both countries partially support the marriage squeeze hypothesis but illustrate persistent spatial patterns among Korean and Japanese regions. We discuss the consequences of internal migration to the regional patterns of marriage squeezes and suggest policy implications.

Keywords: Families, Unions and Households, Fertility, Internal Migration and Urbanization

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