A Critique of Exchange Theory in Mate Selection

Status‐caste exchange theory predicts that in interracial marriages one partner's socioeconomic status is exchanged for the other's racial caste status. The author examines the contradictory literature on the theory specifically in relation to black‐white intermarriage and offers three explanations for the divergent findings. First, black‐white inequality has obscured the actual status homogamy typifying intermarriage. Second, gender differences among young couples have been mistaken for racially specific patterns of exchange. Third, the empirical findings that appear to support status‐caste exchange are not robust. The author's conclusions favor the simplest tabular analyses, which cast doubt on status‐caste exchange theory.