Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP10434
Authors: Jeremy Greenwood; Nezih Guner; Georgi Kocharkov; Cezar Santos
Abstract: Marriage has declined since 1960, with the drop being bigger for non-college educated individuals versus college educated ones. Divorce has increased, more so for the non-college educated. Additionally, positive assortative mating has risen. Income inequality among households has also widened. A unified model of marriage, divorce, educational attainment and married female labor-force participation is developed and estimated to fit the postwar U.S. data. Two underlying driving forces are considered: technological progress in the household sector and shifts in the wage structure. The analysis emphasizes the joint role that educational attainment, married female labor-force participation, and assortative mating play in determining income inequality.
Keywords: assortative mating; education; household production; inequality; marriage and divorce; married female labour supply
JEL Codes: E13; J12; J22; O11
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Technological advancements in the household sector (L68) | Increased labor force participation among married women (J49) |
| Narrowing of the gender wage gap (J79) | Increased labor force participation among married women (J49) |
| Increased assortative mating (J79) | Amplified income inequality (D31) |
| Rise in skill premium (J24) | Increasing income inequality (D31) |