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Marital Sorting and Inequality: How Educational Categorization Matters

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  • Frederik Almar
  • Benjamin Friedrich
  • Ana Reynoso
  • Bastian Schulz
  • Rune Vejlin

Abstract

This paper revisits the link between education-based marriage market sorting and income inequality. Leveraging Danish administrative data, we develop a novel categorization of marriage market types based on the starting wages and wage growth trajectories associated with educational programs: ambition types. We find a substantial increase in sorting by educational ambition over time, which explains more than 40% of increasing inequality since 1980. In contrast, sorting trends are flat with the commonly used level of education. Hence, the mapping between education and marriage-market types matters crucially for conclusions about the role of marital sorting in rising income inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Frederik Almar & Benjamin Friedrich & Ana Reynoso & Bastian Schulz & Rune Vejlin, 2023. "Marital Sorting and Inequality: How Educational Categorization Matters," CESifo Working Paper Series 10265, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_10265
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Almar, Frederik & Schulz, Bastian, 2024. "Optimal weights for marital sorting measures," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality

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