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The role of evolving marital preferences in growing income inequality

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  • Edoardo Ciscato

    (Sciences Po Paris)

  • Simon Weber

    (University of York)

Abstract

In this paper, we describe mating patterns in the USA from 1964 to 2017 and measure the impact of changes in marital preferences on between-household income inequality. We rely on the recent literature on the econometrics of matching models to estimate complementarity parameters of the household production function. Our structural approach allows us to measure sorting along multiple dimensions and to effectively disentangle changes in marital preferences and in demographics, addressing concerns that affect results from existing literature. We answer the following questions: Has assortativeness increased over time? Along which dimensions? To what extent can the shifts in marital preferences explain inequality trends? We find that, after controlling for other observables, assortative mating in education has become stronger. Moreover, if mating patterns had not changed since 1971, the 2017 Gini coefficient between married households would be 6% lower. We conclude that about 25% of the increase in between-household inequality is due to changes in marital preferences. Increased assortativeness in education positively contributes to the rise in inequality, but only modestly.

Suggested Citation

  • Edoardo Ciscato & Simon Weber, 2020. "The role of evolving marital preferences in growing income inequality," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(1), pages 307-347, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:33:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s00148-019-00739-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s00148-019-00739-4
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    Cited by:

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    2. 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.
    3. Gigi Foster & Leslie S. Stratton, 2021. "Does female breadwinning make partnerships less healthy or less stable?," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(1), pages 63-96, January.
    4. Martha J. Bailey & Leah Platt Boustan & William J. Collins, 2024. "Introduction to "The Economic History of American Inequality: New Evidence and Perspectives"," NBER Chapters, in: The Economic History of American Inequality: New Evidence and Perspectives, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Mary C. Brinton & Eunmi Mun & Ekaterina Hertog, 2021. "Singlehood in contemporary Japan: Rating, dating, and waiting for a good match," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 44(10), pages 239-276.
    6. 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.
    7. Salanié, Bernard & Chiappori, Pierre-André, 2021. "Mating Markets," CEPR Discussion Papers 16041, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
      • Pierre-André Chiappori & Bernard Salanié, 2021. "Mating Markets," Working Papers 2021-016, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    8. Ariel J. Binder & Caroline Walker & Jonathan Eggleston & Marta Murray-Close, 2022. "Race, Class, and Mobility in U.S. Marriage Markets," Working Papers 22-59, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    9. Quentin Lippmann & Khushboo Surana, 2022. "The Hierarchy of Partner Preferences," Discussion Papers 22/08, Department of Economics, University of York.
    10. Hani Mansour & Terra McKinnish, 2023. "Male wage inequality and characteristics of “early mover” marriages," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(1), pages 115-138, January.
    11. Almar, Frederik & Friedrich, Benjamin & Reynoso, Ana & Schulz, Bastian & Vejlin, Rune Majlund, 2023. "Marital Sorting and Inequality: How Educational Categorization Matters," IZA Discussion Papers 15912, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Omoniyi B. Alimi & David C. Maré & Jacques Poot, 2022. "Who partners up? Homogamy and income inequality in New Zealand cities," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 62(1), pages 171-193, January.
    13. Shoshana Grossbard & Lucia Mangiavacchi & William Nilsson & Luca Piccoli, 2022. "Spouses’ earnings association and inequality: A non-linear perspective," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 20(3), pages 611-638, September.
    14. 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.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Matching; Assortative mating; Marital preferences; Between-household inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D1 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure

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