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EXAMINING THE WAGE DIFFERENTIAL FOR MARRIED AND COHABITING MEN
Author(s) -
Stratton Leslie S.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
economic inquiry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.823
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1465-7295
pISSN - 0095-2583
DOI - 10.1093/ei/40.2.199
Subject(s) - cohabitation , wage , differential (mechanical device) , economics , labour economics , survey data collection , efficiency wage , demographic economics , wage growth , political science , statistics , mathematics , engineering , law , aerospace engineering
Wage analyses indicate that married and cohabiting men earn more than do single, noncohabiting men. This article examines the nature of these wage differentials using data from the National Survey of Families and Households. Results indicate that the marital and cohabitation differentials are quite distinct. The higher wage observed for cohabiting men is driven primarily by selection and is eliminated by first differencing, but the higher wage observed for married men (and perhaps long‐term cohabiters) arises largely because of differential wage growth. Wages appear to rise more rapidly following marriage.