Trends in Earnings Inequality and Earnings Instability among U.S. Couples: How Important Is Assortative Matching?

Dmytro Hryshko (), Chinhui Juhn () and Kristin McCue
Additional contact information
Chinhui Juhn: University of Houston

No 8729, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We examine changes in inequality and instability of the combined earnings of married couples over the 1980-2009 period using two U.S. panel data sets: Social Security earnings data matched to Survey of Income and Program Participation panels (SIPP-SSA) and the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Relative to male earnings inequality, the inequality of couples' earnings is both lower in levels and rises by a smaller amount. We also find that couples' earnings instability is lower in levels compared to male earnings instability and actually declines in the SIPP-SSA data. While wives' earnings played an important role in dampening the rise in inequality and year-to-year variation in resources at the family level, we find that marital sorting and coordination of labor supply decisions at the family level played a minor role. Comparing actual couples to randomly paired simulated couples, we find very similar trends in earnings inequality and instability.

Keywords: matching; instability; inequality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J1 J2 J3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 38 pages
Date: 2014-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab, nep-lma and nep-ltv
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (9)

Published - published in: Labour Economics, 2017, 48, 168-182

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Related works:
Journal Article: Trends in earnings inequality and earnings instability among U.S. couples: How important is assortative matching? (2017)
Working Paper: Trends in Earnings Inequality and Earnings Instability among U.S. Couples: How Important is Assortative Matching? (2015)
Working Paper: Trends in Earnings Inequality and Earnings Instability among U.S. Couples: How Important is Assortative Matching? (2015)
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