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An Investment-and-Marriage Model with Differential Fecundity: On the College Gender Gap

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  • Hanzhe Zhang

Abstract

I build an investment-and-marriage model to provide a new explanation for the reversed college gender gap; that is, more women than men are going to college. The explanation is based on differential fecundity and an equilibrium marriage-market effect. The model also sheds light on gender-specific relationships between age at marriage and midlife personal income for American men and women and the evolving relationship between age at marriage and spousal income for American women.

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  • Hanzhe Zhang, 2021. "An Investment-and-Marriage Model with Differential Fecundity: On the College Gender Gap," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 129(5), pages 1464-1486.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jpolec:doi:10.1086/713097
    DOI: 10.1086/713097
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    Cited by:

    1. He, Simin & Wu, Jiabin & Zhang, Hanzhe, 2021. "Experimental and Noncooperative Analyses of Decentralized Matching with Transfers," Working Papers 2021-2, Michigan State University, Department of Economics.
    2. Gershoni, Naomi & Low, Corinne, 2021. "The power of time: The impact of free IVF on Women’s human capital investments," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    3. Chuan, Amanda & Zhang, Weilong, 2023. "Non-college Occupations, Workplace Routinization, and the Gender Gap in College Enrollment," IZA Discussion Papers 16089, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Geghetsik Afunts & Stepan Jurajda, 2022. "Who Divorces Whom: Unilateral Divorce Legislation and the Educational Structure of Marriage," CERGE-EI Working Papers wp740, The Center for Economic Research and Graduate Education - Economics Institute, Prague.
    5. Zhang, Hanzhe & Zou, Ben, 2023. "A marriage-market perspective on risk-taking and career choices," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    6. Zhang, Hanzhe, 2020. "Pre-matching gambles," Games and Economic Behavior, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 76-89.
    7. Zhou Kit, 2023. "Choosing Sides in a Two-Sided Matching Market," The B.E. Journal of Theoretical Economics, De Gruyter, vol. 23(2), pages 781-807, June.
    8. Zhang, Hanzhe, 2020. "A Marriage-Market Perspective on Risk-Taking and Career Choices: Theory and Evidence," Working Papers 2020-2, Michigan State University, Department of Economics.
    9. Koh, Yumi & Li, Jing & Wu, Yifan & Yi, Junjian & Zhang, Hanzhe, 2023. "Young Women in Cities," IZA Discussion Papers 16353, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Wu, Jiabin & Zhang, Hanzhe, 2021. "Preference evolution in different matching markets," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    11. Chuan, A. & Zhang, W., 2021. "Non-College Occupations, Workplace Routinization, and the Gender Gap in College Enrollment," Cambridge Working Papers in Economics 2177, Faculty of Economics, University of Cambridge.
    12. Zhang, Lin, 2022. "Age matters for girls: School entry age and female graduate education," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    13. Dan Anderberg & Jesper Bagger & V. Bhaskar & Tanya Wilson, 2022. "Marriage market equilibrium with matching on latent ability: Identification using a compulsory schooling expansion," Working Papers 2022_11, Business School - Economics, University of Glasgow.

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    JEL classification:

    • C78 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Bargaining Theory; Matching Theory
    • D01 - Microeconomics - - General - - - Microeconomic Behavior: Underlying Principles
    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts

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