Youth-age characteristics as precursors of power couple formation and location choice

This paper extends the literature on highly educated “power” couples. Its objectives are twofold. First, it examines the extent to which precursors of power couple formation are evident in young people during their years of compulsory schooling. Second, we examine location choices at adult ages by accounting for youth-age characteristics in addition to adult-age power status. Using Swedish register data, we produce evidence that power couples evolve from matching of spouses who were high academic achievers during the schooling years. Regarding location choice, our results indicate that power couples are characterized by a disproportionate tendency to migrate from their regions of origin to large labour markets. The evidence also points to latent self selection in both spouse matching and location choice.