Men who marry successful, intellectual women become more productive at work and earn more money than those concerned with beauty over brains.

Highly motivated career women provide a good example in the home and boost a man's earnings by more than ten per cent.

The study, published by the Institute for Social and Economic Research, suggests partnership decisions are partly based on the potential career success of a partner.

Co-author Malcolm Brynin: "What we have shown is the marriage market and the work market are far more interlinked than people realise.

"When couples are asked what attracted them to each other, material factors often feature quite low down but people do gauge the value of potential partners by their education and future earning power.

"The things which make someone attractive in the labour market are the same qualities which make them attractive in the marriage market."

Dr Brynin and his co-author, economist Marco Francesconi, analysed data from the British Household Panel Survey, covering 10,000 individuals from 5,500 households between 1991 and 1999.