IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/ecorec/v82y2006i257p150-164.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How Does Marriage Affect the Wages of Men in Australia?

Author

Listed:
  • ELISA ROSE BIRCH
  • PAUL W. MILLER

Abstract

This paper investigates how marriage affects the wages of men in Australia. It finds that there are wage advantages associated with marriage, although men benefit most, in terms of wages, from being married to a more highly educated woman. This advantage is greater where the wife does not work. These findings are more aligned with human capital theory than with assortative mating theory. The focus on the family reflects many of Bob Gregory's contributions, including his study in the Journal of Labor Economics in 2005 (Meng & Gregory 2005).

Suggested Citation

  • Elisa Rose Birch & Paul W. Miller, 2006. "How Does Marriage Affect the Wages of Men in Australia?," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 82(257), pages 150-164, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:ecorec:v:82:y:2006:i:257:p:150-164
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-4932.2006.00312.x
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-4932.2006.00312.x
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/j.1475-4932.2006.00312.x?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Spilsbury, Stephanie & Kidd, Michael P, 1997. "The Gender Wage Gap: What Has Happened between 1973 and 1990 in Australia?," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(69), pages 205-223, December.
    2. Xin Meng, 1998. "Gender occupational segregation and its impact on the gender wage differential among rural-urban migrants: a Chinese case study," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 30(6), pages 741-752.
    3. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Introduction to "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings"," NBER Chapters, in: Schooling, Experience, and Earnings, pages 1-4, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Chiswick, Barry R & Miller, Paul W, 1995. "The Endogeneity between Language and Earnings: International Analyses," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 13(2), pages 246-288, April.
    5. Tiefenthaler, Jill, 1997. "The Productivity Gains of Marriage: Effects of Spousal Education on Own Productivity across Market Sectors in Brazil," Economic Development and Cultural Change, University of Chicago Press, vol. 45(3), pages 633-650, April.
    6. Junsen Zhang & Pak-Wai Liu, 2003. "Testing Becker’s Prediction on Assortative Mating on Spouses’Wages," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 38(1).
    7. Grossbard-Shechtman, Shoshana A. & Izraeli, Dafna N. & Neuman, Shoshana, 1994. "When do spouses support a career? A human capital analysis of Israeli managers and their spouses," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 23(1-2), pages 149-167.
    8. John Hayfron, 2002. "Panel estimates of the earnings gap in Norway: do female immigrants experience a double earnings penalty?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 34(11), pages 1441-1452.
    9. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling, Experience, and Earnings," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number minc74-1.
    10. Michael P. Kidd, 1993. "Sex Discrimination and Occupational Segregation in the Australian Labour Market," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 69(1), pages 44-55, March.
    11. Miller, P. W., 1995. "Effects on earnings of the removal of direct discrimination in minimum wage rates: A validation of the Blinder decomposition," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 2(1), pages 106-106, March.
    12. Eng Seng Loh, 1996. "Productivity Differences and the Marriage Wage Premium for White Males," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 31(3), pages 566-589.
    13. Gary S. Becker, 1964. "Human Capital: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis with Special Reference to Education, First Edition," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number beck-5.
    14. Amy Liu, 2004. "Sectoral gender wage gap in Vietnam," Oxford Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(2), pages 225-239.
    15. Mark Wooden, 1999. "Gender Pay Equity and Comparable Worth in Australia: A Reassessment," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 32(2), pages 157-171, June.
    16. Jacob A. Mincer, 1974. "Schooling and Earnings," NBER Chapters, in: Schooling, Experience, and Earnings, pages 41-63, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    17. Gary S. Becker, 1981. "A Treatise on the Family," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number beck81-1.
    18. Xin Meng & Robert G. Gregory, 2005. "Intermarriage and the Economic Assimilation of Immigrants," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 23(1), pages 135-176, January.
    19. Dolton, Peter J & Makepeace, Gerald H, 1987. "Marital Status, Child Rearing and Earnings Differentials in the Graduate Labour Market," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 97(388), pages 897-922, December.
    20. Wong, Yue-chim, 1986. "Entrepreneurship, Marriage, and Earnings," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 68(4), pages 693-699, November.
    21. Scully, Gerald W, 1979. "Mullahs, Muslims, and Marital Sorting," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(5), pages 1139-1143, October.
    22. Jeffrey S. Gray, 1997. "The Fall in Men's Return to Marriage: Declining Productivity Effects or Changing Selection?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 32(3), pages 481-504.
    23. Gary S. Becker, 1974. "A Theory of Marriage," NBER Chapters, in: Economics of the Family: Marriage, Children, and Human Capital, pages 299-351, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    24. Alison Preston, 1997. "Where Are We Now With Human Capital Theory in Australia?," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 73(220), pages 51-78, March.
    25. Gregory, R.G. & Daly, A.E., 1990. "Can Economic Theory Explain Why Australian Women Are So Well Paid Relative To Their U.S. Counterparts?," CEPR Discussion Papers 226, Centre for Economic Policy Research, Research School of Economics, Australian National University.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Tharp, Derek & Parks-Stamm, Elizabeth & Lurtz, Meghaan & Kitces, Michael, 2020. "Exploring Gender Differences in Marriage and Parental Income Premiums among Financial Advisors," SocArXiv 7k95t, Center for Open Science.
    2. Derek T. Tharp & Elizabeth J. Parks-Stamm & Meghaan Lurtz & Michael Kitces, 2022. "Exploring Gender Differences in Marital and Parental Income Premiums Among Financial Advisors," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 43(1), pages 15-35, March.
    3. Ann Evans, 2021. "Reflecting on 21 Years of the HILDA Survey," Australian Economic Review, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, vol. 54(4), pages 462-468, December.
    4. Wenshu Gao & Russell Smyth, 2012. "Returns to Schooling in Urban China, 2001-2010: Evidence from Three Waves of the China Urban Labor Survey," Monash Economics Working Papers 50-12, Monash University, Department of Economics.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Alison Preston, 1997. "Where Are We Now With Human Capital Theory in Australia?," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 73(220), pages 51-78, March.
    2. Chong Huang & Hongbin Li & Pak Wai Liu & Junsen Zhang, 2009. "Why Does Spousal Education Matter for Earnings? Assortative Mating and Cross-Productivity," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 27(4), pages 633-652, October.
    3. Napari, Sami, 2006. "The early career gender wage gap," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 19844, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    4. A. Preston, 1996. "Where Are We Now With Human Capital Theory in Australia?," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 96-18, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
    5. Sami Napari, 2008. "The Early‐career Gender Wage Gap among University Graduates in the Finnish Private Sector," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 22(4), pages 697-733, December.
    6. Kristy Eastough & Paul W. Miller, 2004. "The Gender Wage Gap in Paid‐ and Self‐Employment in Australia," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(3), pages 257-276, September.
    7. Ralph Hippe & Roger Fouquet, 2024. "The Human Capital Transition and the Role of Policy," Springer Books, in: Claude Diebolt & Michael Haupert (ed.), Handbook of Cliometrics, edition 3, pages 411-457, Springer.
    8. Eiji Yamamura & Yukichi Mano, 2012. "An Investigation into the Positive Effect of an Educated Wife on Her Husband’s Earnings: The Case of Japan in the Period between 2000 and 2003," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 18(4), pages 409-416, November.
    9. Åström, Johanna, 2011. "The Effects of Spousal Education on Individual Earnings – A Study of Married Swedish Couples," HUI Working Papers 32, HUI Research.
    10. Astrid Kunze, 2020. "The effect of children on male earnings and inequality," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 683-710, September.
    11. Sami Napari, 2006. "The Early Career Gender Wage Gap," CEP Discussion Papers dp0738, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    12. Yamamura, Eiji & Mano, Yukichi, 2010. "The Relationship Between the Effects of a Wife’s Education on her Husband’s Earnings and her Labor Participation: Japan in the period 2000 -2003," MPRA Paper 22439, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Olga Nottmeyer, 2010. "Does Intermarriage Pay Off?: A Panel Data Analysis," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1044, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    14. Munyanyi, Musharavati Ephraim, 2012. "Education and Earnings nexus in Zimbabwe after the 2005-2008 hyper-inflationary period: An empirical analysis," MPRA Paper 75112, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Schultz, T. Paul, 1998. "Eroding the economic foundations of marriage and fertility in the United States," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 9(4), pages 391-413, December.
    16. Olga Nottmeyer, 2010. "Does Intermarriage Pay Off?: A Panel Data Analysis," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 314, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).
    17. Chong Huang & Hongbin Li & Pak Wai Liu & Junsen Zhang, 2006. "Why Does Spousal Education Matter for Earnings? Assortative Mating or Cross-productivity," Discussion Papers 00020, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Department of Economics.
    18. Barry R. Chiswick & Yew Liang Lee & Paul W. Miller, 2003. "Schooling, Literacy, Numeracy and Labour Market Success," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 79(245), pages 165-181, June.
    19. Xinxin Ma, 2022. "Internet use and gender wage gap: evidence from China," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 56(1), pages 1-17, December.
    20. Klein, Matthew J. & Barham, Bradford L., 2018. "Point Estimates of Household Bargaining Power Using Outside Options," Staff Paper Series 590, University of Wisconsin, Agricultural and Applied Economics.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:ecorec:v:82:y:2006:i:257:p:150-164. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/esausea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.