Marriage Meets the Joneses: Relative Income, Identity, and Marital Status

Tara Watson and Sara McLanahan

Journal of Human Resources, 2011, vol. 46, issue 3

Abstract: This paper investigates the effect of relative income on marriage. Accounting flexibly for absolute income, the ratio between a man’s income and a local reference group median is a strong predictor of marital status, but only for low-income men. Relative income affects marriage even among those living with a partner. A 10 percent higher reference group income is associated with a 2 percent reduction in marriage. We propose an identity model to explain the results.

Date: 2011
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Related works:
Working Paper: Marriage Meets the Joneses: Relative Income, Identity, and Marital Status (2009)
Working Paper: Marriage Meets the Joneses: Relative Income, Identity, and Marital Status (2009)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:uwp:jhriss:v:46:y:2011:iii:1:p:482-517

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