I just randomly came across the pdf of a power-point on how closing the educational gender gap affects fertility and reproduction. The power-point discusses Europe but I think it's probably applicable to the entire western world, and to some extent to places outside the western world. Here it is if you want to read it for yourself:
http://www.oeaw.ac.at/vid/edugloft/download/S5-Van Bavel.pdf
For those who just want a summary, the key point is that, statistically, women tend to choose mates who have as much as or more education than them, while men tend to choose mates who have as much as or less education than them. The closing of the gender gap in education leads to a larger number of educated women but still the same number of educated men. The pool of men a woman will consider as potential mates ends up shrinking as she becomes more and more educated, as she outpaces more and more men. Meanwhile, the remaining small pool of men at her level of education or higher has, as their own pool, a disproportionately large number of women. This is what I believe led an African-American female professor of law to write an article for The Atlantic magazine in 2013 lamenting how "all men are either losers or playboys." The "losers" are the large number of men with less education than her and the "playboys" are the relatively few men who have as much education as her or more, and who have so many women to choose from that they end up never settling on one.
I'm not making any comment on any of this stuff, just thought the power-point might be a good resource for understanding certain population dynamics relating to loneliness.
http://www.oeaw.ac.at/vid/edugloft/download/S5-Van Bavel.pdf
For those who just want a summary, the key point is that, statistically, women tend to choose mates who have as much as or more education than them, while men tend to choose mates who have as much as or less education than them. The closing of the gender gap in education leads to a larger number of educated women but still the same number of educated men. The pool of men a woman will consider as potential mates ends up shrinking as she becomes more and more educated, as she outpaces more and more men. Meanwhile, the remaining small pool of men at her level of education or higher has, as their own pool, a disproportionately large number of women. This is what I believe led an African-American female professor of law to write an article for The Atlantic magazine in 2013 lamenting how "all men are either losers or playboys." The "losers" are the large number of men with less education than her and the "playboys" are the relatively few men who have as much education as her or more, and who have so many women to choose from that they end up never settling on one.
I'm not making any comment on any of this stuff, just thought the power-point might be a good resource for understanding certain population dynamics relating to loneliness.
