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Why do married men earn more: productivity or marriage selection?
Author(s) -
Chun H,
Lee I
Publication year - 2001
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 - 10.1111/j.1465-7295.2001.tb00068.x
Subject(s) - economics , earnings , wage , unobservable , productivity , labour economics , current population survey , selection (genetic algorithm) , argument (complex analysis) , demographic economics , marriage market , population , sociology , demography , econometrics , economic growth , biochemistry , chemistry , accounting , artificial intelligence , computer science
Using data from the Current Population Survey March Supplement 1999, this study examines why married men earn more than men who have never married. We find that the marriage wage premium cannot be attributed to the unobservable higher earnings capability of married men. Instead, wage gains from marriage are explained by the degree of specialization within the household. Our findings cast doubt on the argument that the selection of high‐ability men into marriage is the cause of the marriage wage premium.