Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP10403
Authors: Pierre-Andre Chiappori; Bernard Salani; Yoram Weiss
Abstract: We construct a structural model of household decision-making and matching and estimate the returns to schooling within marriage. We consider agents with idiosyn- cratic preferences for marriage that may be correlated with education, and we allow the education levels of spouses to interact in producing joint surplus. Using US data on marriages of individuals born between 1943 and 1972, we show that the preference for assortative matching by education has significantly increased for the white population, particularly for highly educated individuals; but not for blacks. Moreover, in line with theoretical predictions, we find that the ?marital college-plus premium? has increased for women but not for men.
Keywords: college premium; marriage
JEL Codes: D1; J1
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Educational attainment (I21) | Likelihood of marriage (J12) |
| Educational attainment (I21) | Characteristics of spouses (J12) |
| Likelihood of marriage (J12) | Joint surplus produced within marriage (D13) |
| Gender differences (J16) | Returns to education within marriage (J12) |
| Marital college-plus premium (J12) | Gender-specific educational investments (I24) |
| Preference for assortative matching by education (I24) | Likelihood of marriage for the white population (J12) |
| Marital college-plus premium (J12) | Marital outcomes (J12) |