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Is the male marriage premium due to selection? The effect of shotgun weddings on the return to marriage

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Author Info
Donna K. Ginther () (Research Department, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA)
Madeline Zavodny () (Research Department, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, Atlanta, GA 30303, USA)

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Abstract

In standard cross-sectional wage regressions, married men appear to earn 10 to 20% more than comparable never married men. One proposed explanation for this male marriage premium is that men may be selected into marriage on the basis of characteristics valued by employers as well as by spouses or because they earn high wages. This paper examines the selection hypothesis by focusing on shotgun weddings, which may make marital status uncorrelated with earnings ability. We compare the estimated marriage premium between white men whose first marriages are soon followed by a birth and other married white men in the United States. The return to marriage differs little for married men with a premarital conception and other married men, and the results suggest that at most 10% of the estimated marriage premium is due to selection.

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Publisher Info
Article provided by Springer in its journal Journal of Population Economics.

Volume (Year): 14 (2001)
Issue (Month): 2 ()
Pages: 313-328
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Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:14:y:2001:i:2:p:313-328

Note: Received: 19 June 1998/Accepted: 10 July 2000
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Related research
Keywords: Male marriage premium · shotgun marriages

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure

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. Cornwell, Christopher & Rupert, Peter, 1997. "Unobservable Individual Effects, Marriage and the Earnings of Young Men," Economic Inquiry, Oxford University Press, vol. 35(2), pages 285-94, April.
  2. Meyer, Bruce D, 1995. "Natural and Quasi-experiments in Economics," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 13(2), pages 151-61, April.
    Other versions:
  3. Bennett, N.G. & Bloom, D.E. & Craig, P.H., 1989. "The Divergence Of Black And White Marriage Patterns," Discussion Papers 1989_22, Columbia University, Department of Economics.
  4. Behrman, Jere R & Taubman, Paul, 1986. "Birth Order, Schooling, and Earnings," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 4(3), pages S121-45, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Daniel, K., 1991. "Does Marriage Make Men More Productive?," University of Chicago - Economics Research Center 92-2, Chicago - Economics Research Center.
  6. Griffin, Peter & Ganderton, Philip T., 1996. "Evidence on omitted variable bias in earnings equations," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 139-148, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Akerlof, George A & Yellen, Janet L & Katz, Michael L, 1996. "An Analysis of Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing in the United States," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 111(2), pages 277-317, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Angrist, Joshua D, 1995. "Introduction to the JBES Symposium on Program and Policy Evaluation," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 13(2), pages 133-36, April.
  9. Kermit Daniel, . "A Note on Mark Testa, et al., "Employment and Marriage Among Inner-City Fathers"," University of Chicago - Population Research Center 89-3a, Chicago - Population Research Center.
  10. Blackburn, McKinley & Korenman, Sanders, 1994. "The Declining Marital-Status Earnings Differential," Journal of Population Economics, Springer, vol. 7(3), pages 247-70, July.
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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. Joyce P. Jacobsen, 2008. "Accommodating Families," Wesleyan Economics Working Papers 2008-004, Wesleyan University, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  2. Booth, Alison L. & Frank, Jeff, 2008. "Marriage, Partnership and Sexual Orientation: A Study of British University Academics and Administrators," IZA Discussion Papers 3510, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
  3. Nabanita Datta Gupta & Nina Smith & Leslie S. Stratton, 2005. "Is Marriage Poisonous? Are Relationships Taxing? An Analysis of the Male Marital Wage Differential in Denmark," IZA Discussion Papers 1591, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Zijl, Marloes & van den Berg, Gerard J. & Heyma, Arjan, 2004. "Stepping Stones for the Unemployed: The Effect of Temporary Jobs on the Duration until Regular Work," IZA Discussion Papers 1241, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Katherin Barg & Miriam Beblo, 2008. "Does Marriage Pay More than Cohabitation? : Selection and Specialization Effects on Male Wages in Germany," SOEPpapers 82, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP). [Downloadable!]
  6. Bratti, Massimiliano & Mancini, Luca, 2003. "Differences in Early Occupational Earnings of UK Male Graduates by Degree Subject: Evidence from the 1980-1993 USR," IZA Discussion Papers 890, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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