True Love and the International Marriage Market

Tyler asks his readers to help a 51-year-old American male find a high-quality wife in the international marriage market:

What traits should he look for in a foreign woman? He should avoid countries which lost the Cold War. Avoid women met in hotels or hotel rooms. Avoid countries which generate large amounts of spam. Hepatitis counts as a minus. How about a plus for women who work in agriculture?

I discussed this problem in general terms a while back. Despite obvious advantages, the downside of marrying internationally is that your spouse is unlikely to "love you for yourself":

[T]he fact that people don't want to be married for their money explains some puzzles about the marriage market. For one thing, it explains why people prefer to marry within their social class. If you're rich guy, you would rather marry a rich girl because you know she's not after your money...

An even bigger puzzle we can explain is why men don't exploit the INS marriage loophole far more than they do. By going to the world market, the typical American man could probably use the lure of citizenship and a First World standard of living to find a wife who is better-looking, younger, and less demanding than he could find in the States. Roll your eyes if you must!

But only an idiot wouldn't wonder "Maybe she's just marrying me for the green card and the green." And that's usually enough to overpower the palpable benefits of casting a wider net.

The real solution to Tyler's challenge...more>>