Within-Couple Age Differences and Sorting on Earnings
Terra McKinnish, University of Colorado at Boulder
Hani Mansour, University of Colorado at Denver
We investigate the relationship between within couple age differences and earnings using samples of married couples from the 1970-2000 Decennial Censuses. We find that among married men average earnings decrease with age difference from partner in either direction. Among women the earnings pattern is the exact inverse. Among women earnings increase with age difference in either direction. Our interpretation is that individuals in differently aged couples tend to be negatively selected, but that women respond to such pairings with increased labor market effort. We find some support for our hypothesis in that the higher earnings of women in differently aged couples are not the result of being in higher earning occupations. Additional analysis with the NLSY shows that men and women in differently aged couples on average have lower AFQT scores.
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Presented in Session 196: Social Change and Family Change