Net worth → Income hypergamy preference
A rise in Net worth does not identify a change in Income hypergamy preference.
Assets change the feasible set in a mating market. That is not a new instinct.
Observational · Moderate · N=400
The association disappears when you account for other factors, like socioeconomic status or healthy-user bias.
Mechanism
Same identification problem as income→hypergamy. Neighborhood, education, and meeting technology sit on the backdoor. Fisman used neighborhood affluence, which is closer to wealth than to last month's paycheck.
Caveats
No RCT of endowments on preference weights.
Effect
qualitative. Wealth is the stock version of the income story. Same backdoors, slower clock.
Nodes
Named confounders
Cite this page
What Causes What. “Net worth → Income hypergamy preference.” https://whatcauseswhat.org/edges/e-wealth-hypergamy (atlas updated 2026-09-02).
Papers
- Gender differences in mate selection: Evidence from a speed dating experiment
R. Fisman, S. S. Iyengar, E. Kamenica, I. Simonson · 2006 · Quarterly Journal of Economics
- Sex differences in human mate preferences: Evolutionary hypotheses tested in 37 cultures
D. M. Buss · 1989 · Behavioral and Brain Sciences