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The Effects of Marriage-Related Taxes and Social Security Benefits

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Listed:
  • Margherita Borella
  • Mariacristina De Nardi
  • Fang Yang

Abstract

In the U.S., both taxes and old age Social Security benefits depend on one's marital status and tend to discourage the labor supply of the secondary earner. We study the effects of eliminating these marriage-related provisions on the labor supply and savings of two different cohorts. To do so, we estimate a rich life-cycle model of couples and singles using the Method of Simulated Moments (MSM) on the 1945 and 1955 birth-year cohorts. Our model matches well the life cycle profiles of labor market participation, hours, and savings for married and single people and generates plausible elasticities of labor supply. We find that these marriage-related provisions reduce the participation of married women over their life cycle, the participation of married men after age 55, and the savings of couples. These effects are large for both the 1945 and 1955 cohorts, even though the latter had much higher labor market participation of married women to start with.

Suggested Citation

  • Margherita Borella & Mariacristina De Nardi & Fang Yang, 2017. "The Effects of Marriage-Related Taxes and Social Security Benefits," NBER Working Papers 23972, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:23972
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    Cited by:

    1. Margherita Borella & Mariacristina De Nardi & Fang Yang, 2019. "The lost ones: the opportunities and outcomes of non-college-educated Americans born in the 1960s," Working Papers 2019-022, Human Capital and Economic Opportunity Working Group.
    2. Masao Fukui & Emi Nakamura & Jón Steinsson, 2023. "Women, Wealth Effects, and Slow Recoveries," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 15(1), pages 269-313, January.
    3. Facundo Piguillem & Guillermo Ordonez, 2015. "Retirement in the Shadow (Banking)," 2015 Meeting Papers 1200, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    4. Margherita Borella & Mariacristina De Nardi & Fang Yang, 2020. "The Lost Ones: The Opportunities and Outcomes of White, Non-College-Educated Americans Born in the 1960s," NBER Macroeconomics Annual, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(1), pages 67-115.
    5. Margherita Borella & Fang Yang & Mariacristina De Nardi, 2019. "The changing opportunities and outcomes of non-college educated Americans," 2019 Meeting Papers 206, Society for Economic Dynamics.

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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • D15 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Intertemporal Household Choice; Life Cycle Models and Saving
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • H3 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents
    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household

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