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Policy Watch: The Marriage Penalty

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Author Info
James Alm
Stacy Dickert-Conlin
Leslie A. Whittington

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Abstract

Many government programs have implicit penalties or subsidies for marriage. For example, many couples pay higher income taxes when married than their combined tax liabilities as single filers, while many other couples receive a marriage subsidy because their joint taxes fall with marriage. Likewise, most low-income couples are eligible for higher welfare benefits if they are separated rather than married. This article discusses the marriage penalty, with a particular focus on tax and transfer programs. Why does it exist? Who faces it? To what extent does it affect marriage and labor market behavior? What tradeoffs are involved in reducing it?

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Publisher Info
Article provided by American Economic Association in its journal Journal of Economic Perspectives.

Volume (Year): 13 (1999)
Issue (Month): 3 (Summer)
Pages: 193-204
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Handle: RePEc:aea:jecper:v:13:y:1999:i:3:p:193-204

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Williamson Hoyne, Hilary, 1997. "Does welfare play any role in female headship decisions?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(2), pages 89-117, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Harvey S. Rosen, 1988. "The Marriage Tax is Down But Not Out," NBER Working Papers 2231, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Nada Eissa & Hilary Williamson Hoynes, 1998. "The Earned Income Tax Credit and the Labor Supply of Married Couples," NBER Working Papers 6856, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Gary S. Becker, 1981. "A Treatise on the Family," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number beck81-1.
  5. Stacy Dickert & Scott Houser & John Karl Scholz, 1995. "The Earned Income Tax Credit and Transfer Programs: A Study of Labor Market and Program Participation," NBER Chapters, in: Tax Policy and the Economy, Volume 9, pages 1-50 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!]
  6. Daniel R. Feenberg & Harvey S. Rosen, 1995. "Recent Developments in the Marriage Tax," NBER Working Papers 4705, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Macurdy, T. & Green, D. & Paarsch, H., 1990. "Assessing Empirical Approaches For Analyzing Taxes And Labor Supply," Papers e-90-11, Stanford - Hoover Institution.
  8. V. Joseph Hotz & John Karl Scholz, 2001. "The Earned Income Tax Credit," NBER Working Papers 8078, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Hoynes, Hilary Williamson, 1996. "Welfare Transfers in Two-Parent Families: Labor Supply and Welfare Participation under AFDC-UP," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(2), pages 295-332, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  10. H. W. Hoynes, . "Does welfare play any role in female headship decisions?," Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Papers 1078-95, University of Wisconsin Institute for Research on Poverty. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Robert A. Moffitt, 2003. "The Negative Income Tax and the Evolution of U.S. Welfare Policy," NBER Working Papers 9751, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Reagan Baughman & Stacy Dickert-Conlin & Scott Houser, 2000. "How Well Can We Track Cohabitation Using the SIPP? A Consideration of Direct and Inferred Measures," Center for Policy Research Working Papers 30, Center for Policy Research, Maxwell School, Syracuse University. [Downloadable!]
  3. Melvin Stephens Jr. & Jennifer Ward-Batts, 2001. "The Impact of Separate Taxation on the Intra-Household Allocation of Assets: Evidence from the UK," NBER Working Papers 8380, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  4. Herwig Immervoll & Henrik Jacobsen Kleven & Claus Thustrup Kreiner & Nicolaj Verdelin, 2008. "An Evaluation of the Tax-Transfer Treatment of Married Couples in European Countries," EPRU Working Paper Series 08-03, Economic Policy Research Unit (EPRU), University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Martin Halla & Johann Scharler, 2008. "Marriage, Divorce and Interstate Risk Sharing," Economics working papers 2008-16, Department of Economics, Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. David T. Ellwood, 1999. "The Impact of the Earned Income Tax Credit and Social Policy Reforms on Work, Marriage, and Living Arrangements," JCPR Working Papers 124, Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research.
  7. Kleven, Henrik & Kreiner, Claus Thustrup & Saez, Emmanuel, 2006. "The Optimal Income Taxation of Couples," CEPR Discussion Papers 5978, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  8. Gopi Shah Goda & John B. Shoven & Sita Nataraj Slavov, 2007. "Social Security and the Timing of Divorce," NBER Working Papers 13382, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Sophie Buffeteau & Damien Echevin, 2008. "Taxation and marriage: Evidence from a natural experiment in France," Cahiers de recherche 08-01, Departement d'Economique de la Faculte d'administration à l'Universite de Sherbrooke. [Downloadable!]
  10. Michael Baker & Emily Hanna & Jasmin Kantarevic, 2003. "The Married Widow: Marriage Penalties Matter!," NBER Working Papers 9782, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  11. David T. Ellwood & Jeffrey B. Liebman, 2000. "The Middle Class Parent Penalty: Child Benefits in the U.S. Tax Code," NBER Working Papers 8031, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  12. Robert Moffitt, 2002. "Milton Friedman, the Negative Income Tax, and the Evolution of US Welfare Policy," Economics Working Paper Archive 486, The Johns Hopkins University,Department of Economics.
  13. Robert Moffitt, 2002. "The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program," NBER Working Papers 8749, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  14. Michael J. Brien & Stacy Dickert-Conlin & David A, Weaver, 2003. "Young Widow(er)s, Social Security, And Marriage," Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College 2003-02, Center for Retirement Research. [Downloadable!]
  15. Saul D. Hoffman, 2003. "The EITC Marriage Tax and EITC Reform," Working Papers 03-01, University of Delaware, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
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