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Title: Empirical Explorations in the Economics of the Family
Resulting in 1 citation.
1. Korenman, Sanders D.
Empirical Explorations in the Economics of the Family
Ph.D. Dissertation, Harvard University, 1988
Cohort(s): Young Men
Publisher: UMI - University Microfilms, Bell and Howell Information and Learning
Keyword(s): Childbearing; Current Population Survey (CPS) / CPS-Fertility Supplement; Discrimination; Gender Differences; Labor Force Participation; Marital Status; Marriage; Wages

This thesis explores the association between marriage and the wages of men and women, and the association between gender and consumption. Marriage is associated with higher wages for men. Three broad classes of hypotheses that are consistent with the marriage wage differential are explored: productivity, selectivity, and discrimination. Marriage wage premiums persist when detailed controls for worker and job characteristics are entered in wage equations. Wages rise with years married and fall with years divorced or separated. The differentials are also found within families (across brothers). The wages of single women do not exceed those of married women. Women with children earn less that those without children, but controlling for measures of labor force attachment and human capital lowers these differentials substantially. Although they are a select group, women who bear children and return quickly to employment suffer no loss of wages compared to childless women. Therefore, wage differentials between men and women having identical measured human capital should not be attributed to differences in labor market productivity that result from the greater household responsibilities of employed married women or women with children.
Bibliography Citation
Korenman, Sanders D. Empirical Explorations in the Economics of the Family. Ph.D. Dissertation, Harvard University, 1988.