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Assortative Mating and Earnings Inequality in France

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  • Nicolas Frémeaux
  • Arnaud Lefranc

Abstract

This paper analyzes assortative mating and its contribution to inequality in France. We first provide descriptive evidence on the statistical association in several socio‐economic attributes of partners. Second, we assess the contribution of assortative mating to earnings inequality between couples. We provide a new method for assessing the contribution of assortative mating to inequality in couple’s potential earnings, that accounts for selection bias arising from labor force participation. Our results indicate a strong degree of assortative mating in France. The correlation in earnings is around 0.17 for annual earnings, around 0.35 for full‐time equivalent earnings and up to 0.49 when using multi‐year average earnings. Assortative mating tends to increase inequality among couples. For annual earnings, the effect accounts for 3 to 9 percent of measured inequality. The effect of assortative mating on household potential earnings is much larger and amounts to 10 to 20 percent for observed inequality.

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  • Nicolas Frémeaux & Arnaud Lefranc, 2020. "Assortative Mating and Earnings Inequality in France," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 66(4), pages 757-783, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:revinw:v:66:y:2020:i:4:p:757-783
    DOI: 10.1111/roiw.12450
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    1. Stéphane Benveniste, 2024. "Political and Business Dynasties: a Social Gradient in Returns to Elite Education," AMSE Working Papers 2410, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France.
    2. Carlo V. FIORIO & Stefano VERZILLO, 2018. "Looking in Your Partner’s Pocket Before Saying “Yes!" Income Assortative Mating and Inequality," Departmental Working Papers 2018-02, Department of Economics, Management and Quantitative Methods at Università degli Studi di Milano.
    3. Stéphane Benveniste, 2023. "Like Father, Like Child: Intergenerational Mobility in the French Grandes Écoles throughout the 20 th Century," AMSE Working Papers 2318, Aix-Marseille School of Economics, France.
    4. Omoniyi Alimi & David C Maré & Jacques Poot, 2018. "Who partners up? Educational assortative matching and the distribution of income in New Zealand," Working Papers 18_13, Motu Economic and Public Policy Research.
    5. 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.
    6. Bruno Rodrigues & Vincent Vergnat, 2019. "The time and the transitions back to work in France after maternity," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 17(3), pages 861-888, September.
    7. Nitin Kumar Bharti, 2018. "Wealth Inequality, Class and Caste in India, 1961-2012," World Inequality Lab Working Papers hal-02878149, HAL.
    8. Quentin Lippmann & Khushboo Surana, 2022. "The Hierarchy of Partner Preferences," Discussion Papers 22/08, Department of Economics, University of York.
    9. Nitin Kumar Bharti, 2018. "Wealth Inequality, Class and Caste in India, 1961-2012," Working Papers hal-02878149, HAL.
    10. Bingley, Paul & Cappellari, Lorenzo & Tatsiramos, Konstantinos, 2022. "Parental assortative mating and the intergenerational transmission of human capital," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    11. Carole Bonnet & Bruno Jeandidier & Anne Solaz, 2018. "Wage Premium and Wage Penalty in Marriage versus Cohabitation," Revue d'économie politique, Dalloz, vol. 128(5), pages 745-775.

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    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution

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