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Unmarried Fathers' Earnings Trajectories: Does Partnership Status Matter?

Author

Listed:
  • Irwin Garfinkel

    (Columbia University)

  • Sara S. McLanahan

    (Princeton University)

  • Sarah O. Meadows

    (RAND Corporation)

  • Ronald B. Mincy

    (Columbia University)

Abstract

Married men earn more than unmarried men. Previous research suggests that marriage itself causes some of the difference, but includes few men who fathered children out of wedlock. This paper asks whether increasing marriage (and possibly cohabitation) following a non-marital birth is likely to increase fathers' earnings and labor supply. The analyses are based on a new birth cohort study the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study which follows unmarried parents for the first five years after their child's birth. Results provide some support for the idea that increasing marriage will lead to increased fathers' earnings.

Suggested Citation

  • Irwin Garfinkel & Sara S. McLanahan & Sarah O. Meadows & Ronald B. Mincy, 2009. "Unmarried Fathers' Earnings Trajectories: Does Partnership Status Matter?," Working Papers 1133, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    • Handle: RePEc:pri:crcwel:wp09-02-ff.pdf
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    File URL: https://fragilefamilies.princeton.edu/sites/fragilefamilies/files/wp09-02-ff.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cornwell, Christopher & Rupert, Peter, 1997. "Unobservable Individual Effects, Marriage and the Earnings of Young Men," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 35(2), pages 285-294, April.
    2. Sanders Korenman & David Neumark, 1991. "Does Marriage Really Make Men More Productive?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 26(2), pages 282-307.
    3. Goldin, Claudia, 1992. "Understanding the Gender Gap: An Economic History of American Women," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780195072709.
    4. Sara McLanahan, 2007. "Should government promote marriage?," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 26(4), pages 951-951.
    5. Donna K. Ginther & Madeline Zavodny, 2001. "Is the male marriage premium due to selection? The effect of shotgun weddings on the return to marriage," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 14(2), pages 313-328.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Cohabitation; marriage; income; men; males; earnings; income; children;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J30 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - General
    • D60 - Microeconomics - - Welfare Economics - - - General
    • I19 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Other
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

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