This study examines changes in variability of age at first marriage for women across birth cohorts and education levels in Taiwan. Taiwan may have experienced a destandardization in the life course and the second demographic transition after World War II, leading to a more dispersed age at first marriage; however, collectivism, the ideology of formal marriage, and the strong association between marriage and fertility may constrain this variability. In addition to estimating each

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... group's dispersion in age at marriage, this study employs logistic and multinominal regression models to investigate how women's birth cohort, education level, employment experience and occupational status before marriage affect the relative timing of first marriage. The results from a pooled nationally representative survey show that, unlike in Western societies, age variability is not widening across birth cohorts in Taiwan. However, education level and employment status play an important role in the variability of age at first marriage. The findings suggest that the variability of women's age at first marriage in Taiwan is still significantly affected by the strong association between marriage, fertility, and economic resources. Destandardization in the life course and the second demographic transition in Taiwan differs from that seen in Western societies.