The Impact of Age Difference on the Life Satisfaction of Wives in Specialized and Nonspecialized Households in Japan / Yaş Farkının Japonya’daki Uzmanlaşmış ve Uzmanlaşmamış Hanehalklarındaki Evli Kadınların Hayat Memnuniyetine Etkisi

Abstract

Using panel data from the Keio Household Panel Survey (KHPS) between 2005 and 2018, this study examines the impact of age difference on wives' life satisfaction in Japan and how age difference affects wives' life satisfaction over the duration of marriage. Considering the specialization theory, the effect of age gap over time is also tested by dividing the sample by wives' employment status. The results of the pooled OLS estimation show that wives married to younger men are satisfied with their lives, while no significant finding is observed for wives married to older men. On the other hand, the fixed effects estimation findings reveal that life satisfaction of wives married to older men increases with years of marriage, while there is no significant finding for wives married to younger men. The results also show that housewives representing specialized households are more satisfied over time, while there are no significant results for working wives representing nonspecialized households. It is also shown that the life satisfaction of housewives married to older men increases as the length of the marriage increases and is always significant, even when alternative specification is used.