Men’s and Women’s Marriage and Cohabitation Earnings Gaps in Comparative Perspective

Abstract

In the United States, marriage has been found to provide a “pay-off” for men’s earnings, but there is a scarcity of comparative research to put these findings in context. For women, even less is known regarding the link between marital status and earnings. This study provides insights into whether the financial benefits associated with men’s relationships are universal cross-nationally and extend to women. Using data from the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) we find that marriage and cohabitation earnings premiums for men are common, even when individual characteristics are controlled. For women, there are few differences, especially once individual characteristics are taken into account. This study uses propensity matching to adjust earnings gaps for selection into marriage and shows that selection explains most, but not all of the earnings differences. Our findings suggest a need for additional research concerning the context of marriage as a source of income inequality in comparative perspective.