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Changes in Assortative Matching and Inequality in Income: Evidence for the UK

Author

Listed:
  • Pierre-André Chiappori

    (Columbia University)

  • Monica Costa Dias

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies, Centre for Economics and Finance)

  • Sam Crossman

    (Institute for Fiscal Studies)

  • Costas Meghir

    (Yale University)

Abstract

The extent to which like-with like marry is important for inequality as well as for the outcomes of children that result from the union. In this paper we present evidence on changes in assortative mating and its implications for household inequality in the UK. Our approach contrasts with others in the literature in that it is consistent with an underlying model of the marriage market. We argue that a key advantage of this approach is that it creates a direct connection between changes in assortativeness in marriage and changes in the value of marriage for the various possible matches by education group. Our empirical results do not show a clear direction in the change in assortativeness in the UK, between the birth cohorts of 1945-54 and 1965-74. We find that changes in assortativeness pushed income inequality up slightly, but that the strong changes in education attainment across the two cohorts contributed to scale down inequality.

Suggested Citation

  • Pierre-André Chiappori & Monica Costa Dias & Sam Crossman & Costas Meghir, 2020. "Changes in Assortative Matching and Inequality in Income: Evidence for the UK," Working Papers 2020-034, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    • Handle: RePEc:hka:wpaper:2020-034
    Note: ECI, FI, M
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    9. Pierre-André Chiappori & Bernard Salanié & Yoram Weiss, 2017. "Partner Choice, Investment in Children, and the Marital College Premium," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(8), pages 2109-2167, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Bram De Rock & Mariia Kovaleva & Tom Potoms, 2023. "A Spouse and a House are all we need? Housing Demand, Labor Supply and Divorce over the Lifecycle," Working Papers ECARES 2023-18, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    2. Pierre-André Chiappori & Monica Costa Dias & Costas Meghir, 2020. "Changes in Assortative Matching: Theory and Evidence for the US," Working Papers 2020-033, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    3. Li Han & Xinzheng Shi & Ming-ang Zhang, 2022. "How Does Matching Uncertainty Affect Marital Surplus? Theory and Evidence from China," HKUST CEP Working Papers Series 202202, HKUST Center for Economic Policy.
    4. Ricky Kanabar, 2024. "Assortative mating and wealth inequality in Great Britain: evidence from the baby boomer and Gen X cohorts," CEPEO Working Paper Series 24-07, UCL Centre for Education Policy and Equalising Opportunities, revised Nov 2024.
    5. Bart Capéau & André Decoster & Bram De Rock & Jonas Vanderkelen, 2024. "Did Belgium withstand the storm of rising inequalities? Income inequality in Belgium, 1985–2020," Fiscal Studies, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(3), pages 285-308, September.
    6. Almar, Frederik & Schulz, Bastian, 2024. "Optimal weights for marital sorting measures," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 234(C).
    7. Erik Stivens PadillaGalviz & Montserrat Vilalta-Bufí, 2023. "Educational Assortative Mating in the European Regions," UB School of Economics Working Papers 2023/458, University of Barcelona School of Economics.
    8. Iryna Kyzyma & Alessio Fusco & Philippe Van Kerm, 2022. "Distributional Change: Assessing the Contribution of Household Income Sources," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 84(1), pages 158-184, February.
    9. Arnaud Dupuy & Simon Weber, 2022. "Marriage Market Counterfactuals Using Matching Models," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 89(353), pages 29-43, January.
    10. Pierre-Andre Chiappori & Monica Costa Dias & Costas Meghir, 2021. "The Measuring of Assortativeness in Marriage," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 2316, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.
    11. Echeverría, Lucía & Gimenez-Nadal, J. Ignacio & Molina, José Alberto, 2023. "Commuting in dual-earner households: International gender differences with time use surveys," Nülan. Deposited Documents 3932, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Facultad de Ciencias Económicas y Sociales, Centro de Documentación.
    12. İşcan, Talan B. & Lim, Kyoung Mook, 2022. "Structural transformation and inequality: The case of South Korea," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    13. Benny, Liza & Bhalotra, Sonia & Fernández, Manuel, 2021. "Occupation flexibility and the graduate gender wage gap in the UK," ISER Working Paper Series 2021-05, Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    14. Cezar Santos & Michèle Tertilt, 2023. "How Families Matter for Understanding Economic Inequality," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2023_456, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Marriage; mobility; UK;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution

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