IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sek/jijoes/v4y2015i4p53-65.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Marriage Premium and Productivity: The Case of NBA Players

Author

Listed:
  • Ze'ev Shtudiner

    (Ariel University)

Abstract

Numerous studies have shown that there is a marriage premium among male workers - married men's wages are higher than those of single men. One explanation for the existence of a marriage premium is increased productivity. While the estimation of workers' productivity in the standard labor market is often inaccurate and subjective, throughput can be estimated easily in professional sports. This study examines whether a marriage premium exists in relation to the performance and efficiency of professional league basketball players in the United States (NBA). A total marriage premium of 16.4% was found in a comprehensive analysis of the performance of all league players. A more thorough analysis showed that there is a higher marriage premium among international players compared to American players.

Suggested Citation

  • Ze'ev Shtudiner, 2015. "The Marriage Premium and Productivity: The Case of NBA Players," International Journal of Economic Sciences, International Institute of Social and Economic Sciences, vol. 4(4), pages 53-65, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:sek:jijoes:v:4:y:2015:i:4:p:53-65
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://iises.net/international-journal-of-economic-sciences/publication-detail-435
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://iises.net/international-journal-of-economic-sciences/publication-detail-435?download=4
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Joni Hersch & Leslie S. Stratton, 2000. "Household Specialization and the Male Marriage Wage Premium," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 54(1), pages 78-94, October.
    2. Gary S. Becker, 1981. "A Treatise on the Family," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number beck81-1.
    3. 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.
    4. Kenny, Lawrence W, et al, 1979. "Returns to College Education: An Investigation of Self-Selection Bias Based on the Project Talent Data," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 20(3), pages 775-789, October.
    5. Nakosteen, Robert A & Zimmer, Michael A, 2001. "Spouse Selection and Earnings: Evidence of Marital Sorting," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 39(2), pages 201-213, April.
    6. Chih-Hai Yang & Hsuan-Yu Lin, 2012. "Is There Salary Discrimination by Nationality in the NBA?," Journal of Sports Economics, , vol. 13(1), pages 53-75, February.
    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. Parsons, Donald O, 1977. "Health, Family Structure, and Labor Supply," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 67(4), pages 703-712, September.
    9. Robert A. Nakosteen & Michael A. Zimmer, 1987. "Marital Status and Earnings of Young Men: A Model with Endogenous Selection," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 22(2), pages 248-268.
    10. Martha S. Hill, 1972. "The Wage Effects of Marital Status and Children," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 7(4), pages 579-594.
    11. Blackburn, McKinley & Korenman, Sanders, 1994. "The Declining Marital-Status Earnings Differential," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 7(3), pages 247-270, July.
    12. John A. Knowles, 2013. "Why are Married Men Working So Much? An Aggregate Analysis of Intra-Household Bargaining and Labour Supply," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 80(3), pages 1055-1085.
    13. Keeley, Michael C, 1977. "The Economics of Family Formation," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 15(2), pages 238-250, April.
    14. Greenhalgh, Christine A, 1980. "Male-Female Wage Differentials in Great Britain: Is Marriage an Equal Opportunity?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 90(363), pages 751-775, December.
    15. Greg Hundley, 2000. "Male/Female Earnings Differences in Self-Employment: The Effects of Marriage, Children, and the Household Division of Labor," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 54(1), pages 95-114, October.
    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. Zeev Shtudiner & Gilad Tohar & Jeffrey Kantor, 2022. "The effect of identification with a sports team and its performance on the willingness of fans to pay for team products," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(3), pages 607-615, April.

    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. Cornaglia, Francesca & Feldman, Naomi E., 2011. "Productivity, Wages, and Marriage: The Case of Major League Baseball," IZA Discussion Papers 5695, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Esteban-Pretel, Julen & Fujimoto, Junichi, 2020. "Non-regular employment over the life-cycle: Worker flow analysis for Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    3. 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.
    4. Ribar, David C., 2004. "What Do Social Scientists Know About the Benefits of Marriage? A Review of Quantitative Methodologies," IZA Discussion Papers 998, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    5. 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.
    6. William M. Rodgers & Leslie S. Stratton, 2010. "Male Marital Wage Differentials: Training, Personal Characteristics, And Fixed Effects," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 48(3), pages 722-742, July.
    7. Ahituv, Avner & Lerman, Robert I., 2005. "How Do Marital Status, Wage Rates, and Work Commitment Interact?," IZA Discussion Papers 1688, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. repec:ebl:ecbull:v:10:y:2007:i:15:p:1-11 is not listed on IDEAS
    9. Esfandiar Maasoumi & Daniel L. Millimet & Dipanwita Sarkar, 2009. "Who Benefits from Marriage?," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 71(1), pages 1-33, February.
    10. Colleen Flaherty Manchester & Lisa M. Leslie & Patricia C. Dahm, 2019. "Bringing Home the Bacon: The Relationships among Breadwinner Role, Performance, and Pay," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(1), pages 46-85, January.
    11. Åström, Johanna, 2009. "The Effects of Assortative Mating on Earnings: Human Capital Spillover or Specialization?," HUI Working Papers 34, HUI Research.
    12. Arif Mamun, 2012. "Cohabitation Premium in Men’s Earnings: Testing the Joint Human Capital Hypothesis," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 53-68, March.
    13. Bruno Jeandidier & Helen Lim, 2015. "Is there justification for alimony payments? A survey of the empirical literature," Working Papers hal-02105214, HAL.
    14. 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.
    15. Anthony Stair, 2007. "Marital Wage Premium or Ability Selection? The Case of Taiwan 1979-2003," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 10(15), pages 1-11.
    16. Ehlert, Martin, 2016. "The Impact of Losing Your Job: Unemployment and Influences from Market, Family, and State on Economic Well-Being in the US and Germany," EconStor Books, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, number 184652.
    17. Papps, Kerry L., 2006. "The Effects of Divorce Risk on the Labour Supply of Married Couples," IZA Discussion Papers 2395, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Maasoumi, Esfandiar & Millimet, Daniel & Sarkar, Dipanwita, 2005. "The Distribution of Returns to Marriage," Departmental Working Papers 0503, Southern Methodist University, Department of Economics.
    19. Michael E. Martell & Peyton Nash, 2020. "For Love and Money? Earnings and Marriage Among Same-Sex Couples," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 41(3), pages 260-294, September.
    20. Ronald Mincy & Jennifer Hill & Marilyn Sinkewicz, 2009. "Marriage: Cause or mere indicator of future earnings growth?," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(3), pages 417-439.
    21. Nabanita Datta Gupta & Nina Smith & Leslie S. Stratton, 2007. "Is Marriage Poisonous? Are Relationships Taxing? An Analysis of the Male Marital Wage Differential in Denmark," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 74(2), pages 412-433, October.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Productivity; wage gap; marriage; basketball;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J70 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - General

    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:sek:jijoes:v:4:y:2015:i:4:p:53-65. 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: Klara Cermakova (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://ijoes.iises.net/ .

    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.