Trends in earnings inequality and earnings instability among U.S. couples: How important is assortative matching?

Hryshko, Dmytro; Juhn, Chinhui; McCue, Kristin

doi:10.1016/j.labeco.2017.08.006

Cited by 28 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Despite concerns that changes in homogamy within couples might have contributed to increased income inequality (Breen and Salazar, 2011;Esping-Andersen, 2007;Schwartz, 2013;Western et al, 2008), most previous studies on the topic concluded that changes in educational homogamy have had little impact on income inequality (Breen and Salazar, 2010;2011;Breen and Andersen, 2012;Eika et al, 2014;Harmenberg, 2014;Hryshko et al, 2015). In this article, we extended this finding to a wide set of European countries.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

Educational Assortative Mating as a Determinant of Changing Household Income Inequality: A 21-Country Study

Boertien

Permanyer

2019

European Sociological Review

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In a search for determinants of societal levels of income inequality, scholars have suggested that homogamy within marriages and cohabiting relationships is a potentially important driver of inequality. If resourceful persons form couples together, and individuals without resources partner each other too, inequality between households is expected to be higher compared to the situation where partnerships are formed across groups. Education is an important socioeconomic marker on which partners select each other. The results of this paper, however, show that changes over time in educational homogamy are unlikely to have contributed to changes in income inequality. This finding is based on counterfactual simulations performed for 21 European countries and the United States using data from the Luxembourg Income Studies. In a second stage of the analysis we examine why changes in educational assortative mating mattered relatively little for changes in income inequality. A major hypothesis proposed in earlier research is that changes in educational homogamy have not been large enough to affect income inequality. However, based on simulations where educational homogamy are minimized and maximized, we document that even extreme

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

Educational Assortative Mating as a Determinant of Changing Household Income Inequality: A 21-Country Study

Boertien

Permanyer

2019

European Sociological Review

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“…household heads, Black families, and families headed by a single-mother-reported the highest levels of earnings and income volatility and the largest increases in volatility over time (Gennetian, Rodrigues, Hill, & Morris, 2018a;Hardy, 2017;Hardy & Ziliak, 2014;Hryshko, Juhn, & McCue, 2017;Keys, 2008;Latner, 2018;Morduch & Schneider, 2016). Even married families are not necessarily protected from volatility because partners may work within the same sectors of the economy and suffer the same economic cycles (Ziliak et al, 2011).…”

Section: The Rise In Earnings and Income Volatilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Strengthening Social Programs to Promote Economic Stability During Childhood

Hardy

Hill

Romich

2019

Social Policy Report

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Economic instability has increased in recent decades and is higher for families with low incomes and Black families. Such instability is thought to be driven primarily by precarious work and unstable family structure. In addition, the social safety net has become less of a stabilizing force for low‐income families, in part because benefits are often tied to employment and earnings. Too much change in economic circumstances may disrupt investments in children, parenting practices, and family routines—particularly if the economic changes are unpredictable, undesired, or not part of upward mobility. Given the considerable evidence that economic circumstances affect child health and development, economic stability can and should be an important goal of multiple policy domains. In this report, we describe economic instability, review the pertinent theories for considering how economic instability might matter to children, and describe ideas for policies that could reduce or moderate instability. We include policies that reduce instability in earnings, use public assistance to stabilize income or reduce material hardship, or enhance parents' capacity to deal with or avoid instability.

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“…Hryshko et al . () examine the role of wives’ earnings for US household earnings inequality and stability; counterfactual earnings are constructed by randomly rematching married men and women, and using the combined earnings. They find that coordination of spouses’ labour supply decisions and positive assortative mating play a minor role.…”

Section: Background and Literaturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…; Hryshko et al . ), the procedure ignores the fact that the amount of earnings not only depends on earnings potential, but is also the result of an endogenous labour supply decision. This depends on the household context, in particular the spouse's characteristics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marital Sorting, Inequality and the Role of Female Labour Supply: Evidence from East and West Germany

Pestel

2016

Economica

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This paper examines the effect of marital sorting on earnings inequality, taking into account extensive and intensive margin labour supply choices. Using German microdata, the observed distribution of couples’ earnings is compared to a counterfactual of random matches. In West Germany, marital sorting is found to be disequalizing only after adjusting for labour supply. This means that positive sorting in earnings potential is veiled by low female participation rates. In East Germany, the impact is highly disequalizing even when earnings are taken as given, due to the fact that East German women are more attached to the labour market.

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Trends in earnings inequality and earnings instability among U.S. couples: How important is assortative matching?

Cited by 28 publications

References 33 publications

Educational Assortative Mating as a Determinant of Changing Household Income Inequality: A 21-Country Study

Educational Assortative Mating as a Determinant of Changing Household Income Inequality: A 21-Country Study

Strengthening Social Programs to Promote Economic Stability During Childhood

Marital Sorting, Inequality and the Role of Female Labour Supply: Evidence from East and West Germany

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