IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/reveho/v16y2018i4d10.1007_s11150-018-9419-z.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Parental duties, labor market behavior, and single fatherhood in America

Author

Listed:
  • Aaron Albert

    (United States Air Force Academy)

Abstract

Longitudinal analysis using samples from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics suggests that men’s income and wages decrease after entering into single fatherhood by marital separation. This loss exceeds what can be explained by marital separation alone. Using a difference in difference approach, I estimate that single fatherhood suppresses men’s annual income by more than $8,000 per year, putting these men and their children at increased economic risk. Similar labor market changes are experienced by widower fathers, a subset of exogenous single fathers. The apparent effects show persistence after single fathers remarry, but mostly diminish after children mature and leave the household. These results stand at odds with previous research suggesting that fatherhood increases men’s wages and hours, and that male labor market outcomes are not significantly influenced by housework.

Suggested Citation

  • Aaron Albert, 2018. "Parental duties, labor market behavior, and single fatherhood in America," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(4), pages 1063-1083, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:reveho:v:16:y:2018:i:4:d:10.1007_s11150-018-9419-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s11150-018-9419-z
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11150-018-9419-z
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11150-018-9419-z?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
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sanders Korenman & David Neumark, 1992. "Marriage, Motherhood, and Wages," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 27(2), pages 233-255.
    2. Sanders Korenman & David Neumark, 1991. "Does Marriage Really Make Men More Productive?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 26(2), pages 282-307.
    3. Philip K. Robins & David H. Greenberg & Paul Fronstin, 2001. "Parental disruption and the labour market performance of children when they reach adulthood," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 14(1), pages 137-172.
    4. Corak, Miles, 2001. "Death and Divorce: The Long-Term Consequences of Parental Loss on Adolescents," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 19(3), pages 682-715, July.
    5. Laura Kawano & Sara LaLumia, 2017. "How Income Changes During Unemployment: Evidence from Tax Return Data," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 52(2), pages 418-456.
    6. Carneiro, Pedro & Heckman, James J., 2003. "Human Capital Policy," IZA Discussion Papers 821, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Becker, Gary S, 1985. "Human Capital, Effort, and the Sexual Division of Labor," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 3(1), pages 33-58, January.
    8. David Card & Rebecca M. Blank, 2008. "The Changing Incidence and Severity of Poverty Spells among Female-Headed Families," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(2), pages 387-391, May.
    9. Tsui-Fang Lin & Jennjou Chen, 2006. "Custodial Fathers-Do they Work More or Fewer Hours?," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 513-522, September.
    10. Sholeh A. Maani & Amy A. Cruickshank, 2010. "What Is The Effect Of Housework On The Market Wage, And Can It Explain The Gender Wage Gap?," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(3), pages 402-427, July.
    11. Becker, Gary S, 1973. "A Theory of Marriage: Part I," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(4), pages 813-846, July-Aug..
    12. Bruce D. Meyer & James X. Sullivan, 2008. "Changes in the Consumption, Income, and Well-Being of Single Mother Headed Families," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 98(5), pages 2221-2241, December.
    13. Shelly Lundberg & Elaina Rose, 2002. "The Effects Of Sons And Daughters On Men'S Labor Supply And Wages," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(2), pages 251-268, May.
    14. Angrist, Joshua D & Evans, William N, 1998. "Children and Their Parents' Labor Supply: Evidence from Exogenous Variation in Family Size," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(3), pages 450-477, June.
    15. Mueller, Richard E., 2005. "The effect of marital dissolution on the labour supply of males and females: Evidence from Canada," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 34(6), pages 787-809, December.
    16. Justin Wolfers, 2006. "Did Unilateral Divorce Laws Raise Divorce Rates? A Reconciliation and New Results," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 96(5), pages 1802-1820, December.
    17. Maria Cancian & Daniel Meyer & Patricia Brown & Steven Cook, 2014. "Who Gets Custody Now? Dramatic Changes in Children’s Living Arrangements After Divorce," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 51(4), pages 1381-1396, August.
    18. Flabbi, Luca & Moro, Andrea, 2012. "The effect of job flexibility on female labor market outcomes: Estimates from a search and bargaining model," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 168(1), pages 81-95.
    19. Maria Cancian & Daniel Meyer, 1998. "Who gets custody?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 35(2), pages 147-157, May.
    20. Joni Hersch, 2013. "Opting out among women with elite education," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 11(4), pages 469-506, December.
    21. Mark L Bryan & Almudena Sevilla-Sanz, 2011. "Does housework lower wages? Evidence for Britain," Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 63(1), pages 187-210, January.
    22. Suzanne Bianchi, 2000. "Maternal employment and time with children: Dramatic change or surprising continuity?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 37(4), pages 401-414, November.
    23. Jonathan Gruber, 2004. "Is Making Divorce Easier Bad for Children? The Long-Run Implications of Unilateral Divorce," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 22(4), pages 799-834, October.
    24. Joni Hersch & Leslie S. Stratton, 1997. "Housework, Fixed Effects, and Wages of Married Workers," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 32(2), pages 285-307.
    25. Niklas Jakobsson & Andreas Kotsadam, 2016. "Does marriage affect men’s labor market outcomes? A European perspective," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 373-389, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Sara Cools & Marte Strøm, 2016. "Parenthood wage penalties in a double income society," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 391-416, June.
    2. Bruno Jeandidier & Helen Lim, 2015. "Is there justification for alimony payments? A survey of the empirical literature," Working Papers of BETA 2015-30, Bureau d'Economie Théorique et Appliquée, UDS, Strasbourg.
    3. Shelly Lundberg & Elaina Rose, 1998. "The Determinants of Specialization Within Marriage," Discussion Papers in Economics at the University of Washington 0048, Department of Economics at the University of Washington.
    4. David S Loughran & Julie Zissimopoulos, 2004. "Are There Gains to Delaying Marriage? The Effect of Age at First Marriage on Career Development and Wages," Working Papers 207, RAND Corporation.
    5. Jane Waldfogel, 1998. "Understanding the "Family Gap" in Pay for Women with Children," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(1), pages 137-156, Winter.
    6. Thorsten Konietzko, 2015. "Self-Employed Individuals, Time Use, and Earnings," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 36(1), pages 64-83, March.
    7. Wolfgang Frimmel & Martin Halla & Rudolf Winter-Ebmer, 2016. "How Does Parental Divorce Affect Children's Long-term Outcomes?," Working Papers 2016-13, Faculty of Economics and Statistics, Universität Innsbruck.
    8. Ewa Cukrowska-Torzewska, 2015. "She Cares and He Earns? The Family Gap in Poland," Ekonomia journal, Faculty of Economic Sciences, University of Warsaw, vol. 42.
    9. Yukawa, Shiho, 2011. "Wage premium of fatherhood and labor supply in Japan," MPRA Paper 33049, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Åström, Johanna, 2009. "The Effects of Assortative Mating on Earnings: Human Capital Spillover or Specialization?," HUI Working Papers 34, HUI Research.
    11. Miguel Olivo-Villabrille, 2022. "The marital earnings premium: an IV approach," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 62(2), pages 709-747, February.
    12. Lehrer, Evelyn L. & Son, Yeon Jeong, 2017. "Marital Instability in the United States: Trends, Driving Forces, and Implications for Children," IZA Discussion Papers 10503, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    13. Lundberg, Shelly & Rose, Elaina, 2000. "Parenthood and the earnings of married men and women," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 7(6), pages 689-710, November.
    14. Auspurg, Katrin & Iacovou, Maria & Nicoletti, Cheti, 2014. "Housework Share between Partners: Experimental Evidence on Gender Identity," IZA Discussion Papers 8569, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Elena Bardasi & Mark Taylor, 2008. "Marriage and Wages: A Test of the Specialization Hypothesis," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 75(299), pages 569-591, August.
    16. Chunbei Wang & Le Wang, 2017. "Knot yet: minimum marriage age law, marriage delay, and earnings," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 30(3), pages 771-804, July.
    17. Shelly Lundberg & Elaina Rose, 2002. "The Effects Of Sons And Daughters On Men'S Labor Supply And Wages," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(2), pages 251-268, May.
    18. Bargain, Olivier & González, Libertad & Keane, Claire & Özcan, Berkay, 2012. "Female labor supply and divorce: New evidence from Ireland," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(8), pages 1675-1691.
    19. Martin Halla, 2013. "The Effect Of Joint Custody On Family Outcomes," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 11(2), pages 278-315, April.
    20. Yukawa Shiho, 2015. "Effects of Fatherhood on Male Wage and Labor Supply in Japan," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 15(2), pages 437-474, April.

    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:kap:reveho:v:16:y:2018:i:4:d:10.1007_s11150-018-9419-z. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.