Trends in Marriage in the United States and Vietnam - Research Paper Example

Outline This essay will examine the differences between trends in marriage in the United s and Vietnam. The structure will be as follows; Introduction: Outline the fact that even though Vietnam and the United States are quite different, the birth of a middle class in Vietnam, with economic independence which is similar to that of people in the United States, means that the two countries can actually be meaningfully compared with interesting results. Point 1: The economic development of Vietnam Supporting details: Since the 1970s, Vietnam has rapidly urbanised and there has been a shift of the population from the countryside to the town Results: This has seen a change in Vietnamese society, and the rise of a new middle class. Rich and poor have, for the first time, been deeply divided by this urbanization Point 2: The change in marriage patterns among Vietnamese women as a result of this economic development Supporting details: Vietnamese middle class women are increasingly financially independent and less influenced by their parents in the life choices they make. Results: Women are delaying marriage until later in life and many are not marrying at all. Point 3: The change in marriage patterns among Vietnamese men as a result of this economic development Supporting details: Men too are being less influenced by their parents to marry young. Results: Although men are not avoiding marriage as much as women in Vietnam, they are waiting to get married and so the average age at which a man marries is rising. Point 4: Decline in birth rates in Vietnam. Supporting details: With the delay in marriage and increasingly financial independence, the birth rate in Vietnam has been decling. Results: A drop from 38.9 per 1,000 of population in 1975 to 22.7 per 1,000 of population in 2005. This is the fastest declining birth rate in Southeast Asia. Point 5: The decline in marriage among U.S. women, as level of female education rises Supporting details: Women in the U.S. are also marrying less and later than in the past. This correlates with increasing access to education for women. Result: The average age at which a woman in the United States marries is rising, much like it is in the newly educated Vietnamese middle classes Point 6: Predictions of a reverse of this trends among highly educate women. Supporting points: Research suggests that in the future the more highly educated a woman is, the more likely she will be to marry, while less educated women will continue to avoid marriage Results: A divergence between the U.S. and Vietnam, as highly educated women return to marriage, albeit at a later age. This suggests that Vietnam and the United States are actually in two different stages of development with regards to the marriage patterns of their inhibitants. Point 7: Less well educated U.S. women will continue to avoid marriage Supporting points: The less well educated women tend to earn less. They therefore do not have the financial means to marry and as society no longer requires them to marry (unlike poorer Vietnamese women) they choose not to. Results: The number of less well educated U.S. women getting married will continue to decline Point 8: Decline of the U.S. birth rate. Supporting points: The fact that women are delaying marriage mean that they are delaying having children. This means that they are having smaller families, or are choosing not to lose their independence and are not having children at all. Results: The results are the same as in Vietnam, with a decline in the number of births. Conculsion: While it superficially seems that Vietnamese and U.S. marriage rates are following the same trend, in fact the two countries are at different development stages and so in the future this trend will diverge. However, birth rates continue to fall in both countries. Read More