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The Relationship Between Wife’s Education and Husband’s Earnings: Evidence from 1960 to 2000

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  • Lisa Jepsen

Abstract

Previous research finds a positive relationship between a wife’s education and her husband’s earnings using data from the 1960s. Earlier theories suggest that benefits accrue from informational sharing between partners in a marriage. This paper tests the hypothesis that a wife’s education is positively associated with her husband’s earnings, using data from the 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000 Censuses. Between 1960 and 2000, the educational attainment and labor-force participation of married women has increased dramatically. As women have embarked upon their own careers, has their education continued to be positively associated with their husbands’ earnings? Yes. The coefficient of the wife’s education remains positive and significant for all the years under study. The size of the coefficient decreases, however, from 1960 to 2000. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2005

Suggested Citation

  • Lisa Jepsen, 2005. "The Relationship Between Wife’s Education and Husband’s Earnings: Evidence from 1960 to 2000," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 3(2), pages 197-214, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:reveho:v:3:y:2005:i:2:p:197-214
    DOI: 10.1007/s11150-005-0710-4
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Fleurbaey, Marc & Kanbur, Ravi & Viney, Brody, "undated". "Social Externalities and Economic Analysis," Applied Economics and Policy Working Paper Series 309990, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    2. repec:spo:wpmain:info:hdl:2441/45je9bvs5880japj06cptntfoa is not listed on IDEAS
    3. , Stone Center & Yonzan, Nishant, 2020. "Assortative Mating and Labor Income Inequality: Evidence from Fifty Years of Coupling in the U.S," SocArXiv 4whvs, Center for Open Science.
    4. Martin Dribe & Paul Nystedt, 2013. "Educational Homogamy and Gender-Specific Earnings: Sweden, 1990–2009," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(4), pages 1197-1216, August.
    5. Daniel Kemptner & Jan Marcus, 2013. "Spillover effects of maternal education on child’s health and health behavior," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 11(1), pages 29-52, March.
    6. Choi, Hyung-Jai & Joesch, Jutta M. & Lundberg, Shelly, 2008. "Sons, daughters, wives, and the labour market outcomes of West German men," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(5), pages 795-811, October.
    7. Sanjaya DeSilva & Mohammed Mehrab Bin Bakhtiar, 2011. "Women, Schooling, and Marriage in Rural Philippines," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_701, Levy Economics Institute.
    8. Eiji Yamamura, 2014. "The effect of young children on their parents’ anime-viewing habits: evidence from Japanese microdata," Journal of Cultural Economics, Springer;The Association for Cultural Economics International, vol. 38(4), pages 331-349, November.
    9. Martin Dribe & Jan Van Bavel & Cameron Campbell, 2012. "Social mobility and demographic behaviour: Long term perspectives," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 26(8), pages 173-190.
    10. Yukichi Mano & Eiji Yamamura, 2013. "Influence of a Wife's Working Status on Her Husband's Accumulation of Human Capital," Asian Economic Journal, East Asian Economic Association, vol. 27(4), pages 323-339, December.
    11. Yamamura, Eiji, 2013. "Externality of young children on parents’ watching of anime: Evidence from Japanese micro data," MPRA Paper 46878, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    12. Eiji Yamamura & Yukichi Mano, 2012. "An Investigation into the Positive Effect of an Educated Wife on Her Husband’s Earnings: The Case of Japan in the Period between 2000 and 2003," International Advances in Economic Research, Springer;International Atlantic Economic Society, vol. 18(4), pages 409-416, November.
    13. Arif Mamun, 2012. "Cohabitation Premium in Men’s Earnings: Testing the Joint Human Capital Hypothesis," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 53-68, March.
    14. Dupuy, Arnaud & Galichon, Alfred & Sun, Yifei, 2016. "Estimating Matching Affinity Matrix under Low-Rank Constraints," IZA Discussion Papers 10449, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Susan L. Averett & Cynthia Bansak & Julie K. Smith, 2021. "Behind Every High Earning Man is a Conscientious Woman: The Impact of Spousal Personality on Earnings and Marriage," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 42(1), pages 29-46, March.
    16. Roberto Bonilla & Alberto Trejos, 2021. "Marriage and employment participation with wage bargaining in search equilibrium," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 68(4), pages 517-533, September.
    17. Dhamija, Gaurav & Roychowdhury, Punarjit, 2018. "The impact of women's age at marriage on own and spousal labor market outcomes in India: causation or selection?," MPRA Paper 86686, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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