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“Married men make more money.” - A causal effect of marriage on men’s earnings has been asserted in economics and social science for decades; often documented by many studies. However, German sociologists from Kaiserslautern and Munich come to a completely different conclusion in their current study published in “American Sociological Review”. They analyzed data from more than 4,000 US men using new statistical methods. Their conclusion: A causal effect of marriage on pay cannot be shown. The study was published in the renowned journal “American Sociological Review”.
The step up to the altar increases men's wages. Numerous studies have come to this conclusion over the past decades. There is a large literature on the difference in pay between married and unmarried men. “A lot of research has been done, especially for the US,” says German assistant professor Dr. Volker Ludwig from the Department of Sociology at the Technische Universität Kaiserslautern (TUK). One reason for this that has often been mentioned is that the husband concentrates on the career, while the wife supports him and takes care of the household and upbringing of the children.
According to the professor, the fundamental problem with such topics is whether there really is a causal connection. “So, can one really assume that marriage makes men more productive,” he says. “Or is it rather that men who earn more get married.”
Ludwig and his colleague Professor Dr. Josef Brüderl from the Chair of Quantitative Inequality and Family Research at University of Munich (LMU) have recently conducted a study on this topic. They applied new statistical methods to the data of more than 4,000 US men who have been regularly asked about their family life and career for up to 33 years.
“In such studies there are always certain variables that cannot be taken into account,” says Brüderl. In this context, experts speak of a selection problem. For example, factors such as looks, health or personality traits, which are important for the choice of a partner, may also matter for the professional career and earnings. Likewise, it is possible that women in the marriage market are more interested in men who earn well. “But what can be attributed to selective, what can be attributed to causal mechanisms,” Brüderl continues.
In previous studies, the “selection of high earners into marriage”, as it is called in statistical jargon, was only partially taken into account. It could not be completely eliminated with standard methods. The two social scientists have now been able to “clean up” the data using new statistical models. “We conclude that there is no causal effect of marriage on earnings,” Ludwig sums up. “Selection plays a greater role here than we have thought. Marriage does not boost productivity and thus wages. Rather, more productive, higher earning men are more likely to get married. When it comes to salary, marriage doesn’t pay.”
With their work, the two scientists also want to point to a methodological fallacy that is probably a more general problem. “There are numerous studies that deal with the benefits of marriage,” the professor explains. For example, studies have shown in the past that life satisfaction is higher in marriage or that married people live longer. “In these cases, too, it would have to be examined whether there really is a purely causal connection,” says Brüderl.
The study was published in the renowned journal “American Sociological Review”: „Is There a Male Marital Wage Premium? New Evidence from the United States“
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122418784909
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0003122418784909
Questions can be directed to:
JunProf. Dr. Volker Ludwig
TU Kaiserslautern / Faculty for Social Sciences
Phone: +49(0)631-2055786
E-mail: ludwig(at)sowi.uni-kl.de
Prof. Dr. Josef Brüderl
University of Munich (LMU)
Phone: +49(0)170-6610025
E-mail: bruederl(at)lmu.de
JunProf. Dr. Volker Ludwig
TU Kaiserslautern / Faculty for Social Sciences
Phone: +49(0)631-2055786
E-mail: ludwig(at)sowi.uni-kl.de
Prof. Dr. Josef Brüderl
University of Munich (LMU)
Phone: +49(0)170-6610025
E-mail: bruederl(at)lmu.de
American Sociological Review: „Is There a Male Marital Wage Premium? New Evidence from the United States“
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122418784909
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0003122418784909
JunProf. Dr. Volker Ludwig
Credits: TUK/Koziel
None
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