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The marriage unemployment gap

Author

Listed:
  • Choi Sekyu

    (University of Bristol, Department of Economics, 0B10 The Priory Road Complex, Priory Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1TU, United Kingdom)

  • Valladares-Esteban Arnau

    (Division of Economics, School of Social Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom)

Abstract

In this paper we document that married individuals face a lower unemployment rate than their single counterparts. We refer to this phenomenon as the marriage unemployment gap. Despite dramatic demographic changes in the labor market over the last decades, this gap has been remarkably stable both for men and women. Using a flow-decomposition exercise, we assess which transition probabilities (across labor force states) are behind this phenomenon: For men, the main driver is the higher job losing probabilities faced by single workers. For females, the participation margin also plays a crucial role.

Suggested Citation

  • Choi Sekyu & Valladares-Esteban Arnau, 2018. "The marriage unemployment gap," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 18(1), pages 1-14, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:bejmac:v:18:y:2018:i:1:p:14:n:7
    DOI: 10.1515/bejm-2016-0060
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Esteban-Pretel, Julen & Fujimoto, Junichi, 2020. "Non-regular employment over the life-cycle: Worker flow analysis for Japan," Journal of the Japanese and International Economies, Elsevier, vol. 57(C).
    2. Valladares-Esteban, Arnau & Choi, Sekyu, 2016. "On households and unemployment insurance," Discussion Paper Series In Economics And Econometrics 1508, Economics Division, School of Social Sciences, University of Southampton.
    3. Kathrin Ellieroth, 2017. "Cyclicality of Hours Worked by Married Women and Spousal Insurance," CAEPR Working Papers 2017-009, Center for Applied Economics and Policy Research, Department of Economics, Indiana University Bloomington.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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