The Relationship between Partners' Family-Size Preferences in Southern Malawi

Studies of the relative influence of partners' fertility preferences on behaviors tend to treat preferences as fixed, largely independent traits despite existing theoretical arguments and empirical evidence suggesting that they are moving targets that may be jointly developed within relationships. In this study, we use couple-level panel data from married and unmarried young adults in southern Malawi to examine the relationship between partners' family-size preferences. We find evidence of assortative mating: young Malawians are more likely to partner with individuals who have similar family-size goals. Additionally, although partners' family-size preferences do not perfectly converge, changes among men's and women's preferences are significantly more likely to be toward than away from those of their partner. Our findings point to a need for studies regarding the relative influence of partners on reproductive outcomes to consider the interdependence of partners' preferences and the varied ways in which partners can influence shared reproductive behaviors.