Shifts in the labor force likely also contributed to the Second Demographic Transition’s changes in family life. The service-based economy’s growth since 1950 has enhanced the incentives to get an education for both men and women, but especially for women.61 Because marriage in early adulthood would interfere with college and starting a career, men and women have been delaying marriage for the past 50 years.62 Nonetheless, until recently, most women have continued to marry eventually.
