Informal Conjugal Unions and Schooling in Brazil: A Comparison Between 1980 and 2010

Mariana de Araújo Cunha , Nuffield College, University of Oxford
Ana Paula Verona, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG)

Informal conjugal unions have become more common in Brazil in the last few decades. This increase could be seen as either an expansion of the traditional or the modern type of informal union, which are connected to different values and motivations. The goal of this research is to look at the association between type of union (formal or informal) and schooling between women in Brazil. The analysis was done for women in a union between the ages of 25 to 29 years, using the Brazilian demographic Censuses of 1980 and 2010. The results show that women of higher schooling still present a higher chances of choosing formal unions. Moreover, this change actually grew over the decades. The results allow for a better understanding of the relationship between schooling and type of union, as well as to how the meaning of informal unions has changed in Brazil in these 30 years.

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 Presented in Session 9. Marriage, Family, Households, & Unions; Gender, Race, & Ethnicity