Faculty Publications

The Relationship Between Wife's Education And Husband's Earnings: Evidence From 1960 To 2000

Document Type

Article

Keywords

Husband's earnings, Marriage, Wife's education

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Review of Economics of the Household

Volume

3

Issue

2

First Page

197

Last Page

214

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. © Springer Science+Business Media, Inc. 2005.

Department

Department of Economics

Original Publication Date

6-1-2005

DOI of published version

10.1007/s11150-005-0710-4

Link to Full Text

Comments?

Share

COinS