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Male wage inequality and characteristics of “early mover” marriages

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  • Hani Mansour

    (University of Colorado Denver and IZA, University of Colorado Denver)

  • Terra McKinnish

    (University of Colorado and IZA, University of Colorado)

Abstract

Previous work shows that higher male wage inequality decreases the share of ever-married women in their 20 s, consistent with the theoretical prediction that greater male wage dispersion increases the return to marital search. Consequently, male wage inequality should be associated with higher husband quality among those “early-mover” women who choose to forgo these higher returns to search. We confirm using US decennial Census and American Community Survey (ACS) data from 1980 to 2018 that married women ages 22–30 in marriage markets with greater male wage inequality are more likely to marry up in education and in husband’s occupation. We additionally consider whether male wage inequality increases wage uncertainty, leading women to prefer older husbands who can send stronger signals of lifetime earnings. We confirm that higher male wage inequality is also associated with a larger marital age gap.

Suggested Citation

  • Hani Mansour & Terra McKinnish, 2023. "Male wage inequality and characteristics of “early mover” marriages," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(1), pages 115-138, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:36:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s00148-022-00898-x
    DOI: 10.1007/s00148-022-00898-x
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Marriage; Marital search; Marital sorting; Inequality; Male wages;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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