This paper employs the 2010 Jordan Labor Market Panel Survey to analyze patterns in
marriage behavior over time and across socio-demographic groups. Using retrospective
reports from ever-married respondents, I describe the postponement of first marriage to
successively older ages for both men and women, and I trace the decline in consanguinity and
the rise in nuclear family living arrangements over time. I find that husbands’ age seniority
has fluctuated over time, but that the education gap between husbands and wives has closed
over successive marriage cohorts. I also describe how these trends differ between rural and
urban residents, as well as between members of different regional and socioeconomic groups
in Jordan. Finally, I analyze trends in matrimonial expenditures in Jordan, finding that
contrary to popular discourse, the costs of marriage have not increased in recent years. I
describe variations over time in the components of marriage costs, and examine how these
differ for various socio-demographic groups.