1 Social and Economic Impacts of International Marriages in Europe * Ekaterina Ponomareva † Shin-Yi Chou ‡ Alex Nikolsko-Rzhevskyy § Abstract The effect of international marriage - a union between a country native and an immigrant - on social and family outcomes is endogenous due to the selection into marriage markets and non-random spousal choice. In this paper we use European Union membership and availability of cheap travel as region-specific instrumental variables that increased the probability of inter- marriage in Europe. The two-stage least squares analysis applied to 1977-2006 IPUMS Interna- tional Project Census micro data shows no significant difference in the family size or number of children between intermarried and same-nativity couples. However, it does reveal higher labor force participation rates and much lower marriage rates among mixed nationality couples. Keywords: International Marriage, European Union, Labor Force Participation, Cohabitation JEL Classifications: J10 Demographic Economics, F22 International Migration, F61 Economic Impacts of Globalization * We are grateful to Thomas Hyclak and Mengcen Qian, as well as Keshar Ghimire, the participants of 41st Eastern Economic Association Meeting and Lehigh University Economics PhD Seminars for their insightful comments. There are no potential conflicts of interest. This is a working paper that has not been submitted for review elsewhere. All mistakes are our own. † Corresponding Author, Economics PhD Candidate, Lehigh University; 621 Taylor St, Bethlehem, PA 18015; email: eap312@lehigh.edu ‡ Professor of Economics, Lehigh University; 621 Taylor St, Bethlehem, PA 18015; e-mail: syc2@lehigh.edu § Associate Professor in Economics, Lehigh University; 621 Taylor St, Bethlehem, PA 18015; e-mail: aln812@lehigh.edu