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What Is the Male Marriage Premium?

econlog.econlib.org

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Re: What Is the Male Marriage Premium?

#11

Post by cmdrfred »

ianai wrote: post #3

They routinely give the men with children/wives the better hours, pay, and whatever else at my work. They just changed several peoples' schedules so that my peer could have Saturdays off with his kid. Contrast that with myself: I have requested the same shift and been denied. I don't have kids. I also have better reasons to be on that shift. In my anecdotal experience, it appears classist. I would file that under 'hu…

You say you have "better reasons", childcare is pretty important when you consider all the downstream effects. Are you certain you are objective on this?

Re: What Is the Male Marriage Premium?

#13

Post by sjg007 »

tyingq wrote: post #6

Would have been interesting to see a breakdown by dual-income vs single-income, unmarried with/without dependants, etc. If you get married, and find yourself supporting a spouse, and potentially, children, you have new motivation to make more money.

They probably controlled for dual-income and dependents.

Re: What Is the Male Marriage Premium?

#14

Post by strictnein »

ianai wrote: post #3

They routinely give the men with children/wives the better hours, pay, and whatever else at my work. They just changed several peoples' schedules so that my peer could have Saturdays off with his kid. Contrast that with myself: I have requested the same shift and been denied. I don't have kids. I also have better reasons to be on that shift. In my anecdotal experience, it appears classist. I would file that under 'hu…

> "I don't have kids. I also have better reasons to be on that shift."

It may be unfair, but if the person who is making this decision has children, they likely view spending time with children as the most compelling reason.

Re: What Is the Male Marriage Premium?

#16

Post by TheCoelacanth »

anqh4 wrote: post #7

1. Women seek men with high income, 2. Having a housewife leaves the man with more free time to work. See, no need to make a study.

Those are the first and third of the the three hypotheses that they consider. They attempt to figure out how large the impact of each hypothesis is.

Re: What Is the Male Marriage Premium?

#17

Post by nnspace »

boshfpngr wrote: post #8

This is pure causation. Men with more income and stability in their lives are more capable of attracting women, therefore more likely to be married. How could they miss such an obvious answer?

"Explanation #1: Ability bias. The causal effect of marriage on male income is smaller than it seems....Maybe income makes it easier to attract a spouse".

Re: What Is the Male Marriage Premium?

#18

Post by civilian »

anqh4 wrote: post #7

1. Women seek men with high income, 2. Having a housewife leaves the man with more free time to work. See, no need to make a study.

> 2. Having a housewife leaves the man with more free time to work.

That's hypothesis 2 of the three that they looked at, that marriage "makes a man a more productive worker".

There is a need for a study. What if employers are simply assuming that married men are better workers (hypothesis 3), but married men aren't actually better workers? Than as an unmarried man, I'm getting discriminated against, and marital status is a protected class. This is good shit to look at.

Re: What Is the Male Marriage Premium?

#20

Post by mtanski »

dibujante wrote: post #9
acchow wrote: post #2

Enjoyed the analysis. I wonder if our educational system will ever reach the point where the layperson doesn't immediately think "I should get married to increase my income". Tho many people seem to believe that moving to the Bay Area will increase their earnings... post hoc ergo propter hoc.

If the third hypothesis (signaling) is correct, then you _should_ get married to increase your income.

If domestic partnerships are still possible in the bay area (they were when I lived there 5 years ago). You can get all the upsides without the downsides (taxes & AMT).... and just call the other person your partner, they'll assume you're married.
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