Journal of Sociology © 2011 The Australian Sociological Association, 1–19 DOI:10.1177/1440783311411957 www.sagepublications.com Who gets married in Australia? The characteristics associated with a transition into first marriage 2001–6

Although there is broad agreement that marriage patterns have changed there is little understanding of the individual level factors associated with these changes. We investigate this question by examining the associations between a range of economic and social characteristics and the transition into first mar-riage. We use panel data from the first six waves of the Households, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey (2001–6) to run a mixed effect logit model examining the economic and social determinants of first marriage. Our baseline sample comprised 1,565 men and 1,391 women. We find broad sup-port for a financial expectations explanation where marriage is delayed until financial security is obtained. But there is also evidence that normative factors are important