This paper estimates the contributions of differential fecundity, social heterogeneity, assortative matching and search frictions to aggregate marriage behavior in 18th century Quebec. The reduced form estimates show that a simple random matching model of the marriage market, in which there are...

There are similarities and differences in marriage and fertility behavior between early North American societies and their modern counterparts. This paper investigates the quantitative importance of differential fecundity, assortative matching, and marriage market search frictions in affecting...