From I to We
The Human Capital - Reproductive Capital Tradeoff in Marriage Market Matching
Corinne Low
Journal of Political Economy, forthcoming
Abstract:
Throughout the 20th century, the relationship between women's human capital and men's income was non-monotonic: while college-educated women married richer spouses than high-school-educated women, graduate-educated women married poorer spouses than college-educated women. This can be rationalized by a bi-dimensional matching framework where women's human capital is negatively correlated with another valuable trait, fertility, or "reproductive capital." Such a model predicts non-monotonicity in income matching with a sufficiently high-income distribution of men. A simulation of the model using Census fertility and income data shows that it can also predict the recent transition to more assortative matching as desired family sizes have fallen.
Separate Spheres: The Gender Division of Labor in the Financial Elite
Jill Yavorsky et al.
Social Forces, forthcoming
Abstract:
In recent decades, the financial elite have seen their economic resources grow significantly, while the income and wealth of other households have stagnated. The financial elite includes couples who are super-rich (top one percent), rich (the 90th-99th percentile), and upper-middle class (the 80th-89th percentile). Gendered work-family arrangements in top economic groups may contribute to inequality -- particularly to wealth accumulation among the elite -- but relatively little is known about how these couples divide paid and unpaid work or the extent to which their arrangements differ from other couples. In this study, we uncover novel work and family patterns and trends in the most economically powerful families in the United States. We use the Survey of Consumer Finances (1989-2019) to compare the household division of labor across income and wealth groups and over time, with a focus on financial elites. We find stark contrasts between super-rich couples and other couples in the division of labor. Specifically, super-rich couples are much more likely than all other couples, including rich and upper-middle class couples, to have a traditional male breadwinner-female homemaker/caregiver arrangement. Importantly, the striking patterns of traditional arrangements in the top one percent have not changed in 30 years and, as we uncover, appear to be driven by a couple's wealth rather than income. These findings suggest that work-family arrangements may be an integral component of economic and gender inequality.
When Homemakers Are Compensated: The Effect of Homemaking Provisions on Spousal Time Allocation
Crystal Wong
Journal of Legal Studies, January 2023, Pages 107-136
Abstract:
Many argue that the liberalization of divorce laws reduced the commitment value of marriage and thus discouraged the division of labor in a household. I examine how homemaking provisions in marital property law that recognize the contribution of homemakers in the division of marital properties at divorce affects spousal time allocation. Conceivably, such laws could increase the gendered division of labor in a household. I develop a noncooperative household model to analyze the effects of such provisions on spousal time allocation. The empirical findings provide support for the noncooperative household model, particularly under unilateral divorce regimes in which it is difficult for partners to make long-term commitments to each other. The results show that a unilateral divorce regime with a homemaking provision is associated with wives increasing their housework and reducing their market labor.
Which Came First, the Money or the Sex? Bidirectional, Indirect Associations between Financial Management Behaviors and Sexual Satisfaction among Newlywed Couples
Matthew Saxey et al.
Journal of Sex Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
Scholars have established connections between how married couples navigate their finances and their sexual relationship. For example, financial management behaviors are associated with sexual satisfaction among newlywed couples. However, we know very little about the direction of the association between financial management behaviors and sexual satisfaction. Understanding which might predict the other, or if there might be a bidirectional association between the two, could provide information on where to intervene to help newlywed couples with financial or sexual obstacles in their marriage. With three waves of dyadic data (N = 1,205 U.S. newlywed couples), we used structural equation modeling to examine the bidirectional, indirect associations between husbands' and wives' financial management behaviors and their own sexual satisfaction through their own marital satisfaction. Overall, we found that financial management behaviors indirectly predicted changes in sexual satisfaction through marital satisfaction for both husbands and wives. We also found limited evidence that husbands' sexual satisfaction indirectly predicted changes in their own financial management behaviors through their own marital satisfaction. Additionally, these indirect associations differed by gender. Partner effects, however, were largely non-significant. Implications of these findings for those who help newlywed couples with their sexual relationships are discussed.
Partners in Health: Investigating Social Genetic Effects Among Married and Cohabiting Couples
Kasper Otten & Jornt Mandemakers
Behavior Genetics, July 2023, Pages 348-358
Abstract:
Partners resemble each other in health behaviors and outcomes such as alcohol use, smoking, physical activity, and obesity. While this is consistent with social contagion theory suggesting partner influence, it is notoriously difficult to establish causality because of assortative mating and contextual confounding. We offer a novel approach to studying social contagion in health in long-term partnerships by combining genetic data of both partners in married/cohabiting couples with longitudinal data on their health behaviors and outcomes. We examine the influence of the partner's genetic predisposition for three health outcomes and behaviors (BMI, smoking, and drinking) among married/cohabiting couples. We use longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study and the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing with data on health outcomes and genotypes for both partners. Results show that changes over time in BMI, smoking, and drinking depend on the partner's genetic predispositions to these traits. These findings underline the importance of people's social surroundings for their health and highlight the potential of targeting health interventions at couples.