婚姻市場對擇偶偏好的影響以臺灣、香港與南韓為比較

Marriage Market Effects on the Mating Preference: A Comparison of Taiwan, Hongkong, and South Korea

社會交換理論與婚姻市場理論對擇偶偏好看法的共同點之一是：不同社會婚姻市場的結構性差異會影響男女擇偶偏好的調整。本文比較台港韓三地的性別人口結構與擇偶偏好，以驗証此一假說。婚姻市場的相對優劣受兩種性別人口因素的影響，其一是傳統婚姻市場理論中的「婚姻擠壓」，本文以適婚年齡人口性比例為可測量變數；其二是本文定義的「學歷擠壓」，以遇見受過高等教育異性機率為可測量變數。由兩種擠壓的加總得出，南韓女性的婚姻市場最優，台灣女性次之，香港女性最差。男性的情況則剛好相反，香港男性最優勢，台灣男性次之，南韓男性最差。由婚友網站上的資料顯示：(1)台港韓三地女性年齡上門檻及下門檻，由高而低依次是：香港、台灣、南韓。(2)男性則完全相反，年齡上門檻及下門檻由高而低依次是：南韓、台灣、香港。上述結果得証本文之假設自處於擇偶相對較「劣勢」婚姻市場中的一方會比另一地的同性有較高的年齡上門檻以擴展其結婚機會，但卻較沒有信心去表達出對較低年齡異性的偏好欲求，其所設定的年齡下門檻因此較高。本文中也對台港兩地男女的學歷偏好門檻做了類似的推測，結果發現。香港女性比台灣女性有較高（寬鬆）的學歷門檻，而兩地男性學歷門檻的差異則較顯著。

From the previous studies of the social exchange theory and the marriage market theory, socio-demographic differentials are considered as not only market constraints but also the determinants of mate selection preferences. This paper theoretically distinguishes two kinds of socio demographic forces which influence the mate selection preferences. The first is ”the sex ratio of suitable marriage age”, as the index of the force of marriage squeeze. The second is ”the average opportunity of coming across high-educated opposite sex”, as the index of the force of education squeeze. The paper combines these two forces to predict the related different mating thresholds of the same sex in Taiwan, Hong Kong and South Korea, by using the data in matching web sites. The results support the hypothesis that those who in a ”worse” marriage market have a higher ceiling age threshold, higher floor age threshold, and higher education threshold.