Assortative Mating and Earnings Inequality in France

Frémeaux, Nicolas; Lefranc, Arnaud

doi:10.1111/roiw.12450

Cited by 15 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…A high association between partners' incomes can be the result of a variety of processes, of which partner selection is only one. One process is the matching of partners based on their income generation potential (Frémeaux and Lefranc, 2015). A recent paper on the US, however, found no role for partner selection based on earnings once explaining changes in income inequality.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research on the influence of partnering behavior on income inequality forms part of a larger literature documenting the role of family dynamics including family structure, female employment and the association between partners' earnings (Bouchet-Valat, 2017;Esping-Andersen, 2007;Kollmeyer, 2012;McLanahan and Percheski, 2008;Western et al, 2008). Among these factors, the influence of the correlation between partners' earnings on income inequality appears especially large (Frémeaux and Lefranc, 2015;Schwartz, 2013) and can explain between 20% and 50% of changes in income inequality over time in the United States (Schwartz, 2010). This observation provokes the question whether a range of family dynamics including the selection of partners and processes that take place after union formation (e.g.…”

Section: Educational Homogamy Among Partners and Income Inequalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

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Educational Assortative Mating as a Determinant of Changing Household Income Inequality: A 21-Country Study

Boertien

Permanyer

2019

European Sociological Review

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In a search for determinants of societal levels of income inequality, scholars have suggested that homogamy within marriages and cohabiting relationships is a potentially important driver of inequality. If resourceful persons form couples together, and individuals without resources partner each other too, inequality between households is expected to be higher compared to the situation where partnerships are formed across groups. Education is an important socioeconomic marker on which partners select each other. The results of this paper, however, show that changes over time in educational homogamy are unlikely to have contributed to changes in income inequality. This finding is based on counterfactual simulations performed for 21 European countries and the United States using data from the Luxembourg Income Studies. In a second stage of the analysis we examine why changes in educational assortative mating mattered relatively little for changes in income inequality. A major hypothesis proposed in earlier research is that changes in educational homogamy have not been large enough to affect income inequality. However, based on simulations where educational homogamy are minimized and maximized, we document that even extreme

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Educational Homogamy Among Partners and Income Inequalitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Educational Assortative Mating as a Determinant of Changing Household Income Inequality: A 21-Country Study

Boertien

Permanyer

2019

European Sociological Review

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“…The literature on the gender wage gap (comparing men's and women's average wages) is very abundant (Altonji & Blank [1999], Ponthieux & Meurs [2015), but the literature dealing more specifically with the intra-couple gender wage gap is much rarer. Some studies focus on wage homogamy (Frémeaux & Lefranc [2017]; Hu & Qia [2015]) and some others mobilize the intra-couple gender wage gap as a determinant of other outcomes such as the probability of divorce (Brines & Joyner [1999]; Bertrand et al [2015]), the allocation of domestic tasks (Ponthieux & Schreiber [2006]; Bloemen & Stancanelli [2014]; Sofer & Thibout [2015]; Bertrand et al [2015]) and the inequality of inter-household income (Blau [1998]; Schwartz [2010], Frémeaux & Lefranc [2017). We are not aware of any work studying intra-couple wage inequality according to the type of union (marriage versus cohabitation).…”

Section: The Wage Gap Between Partnersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wage Premium and Wage Penalty in Marriage versus Cohabitation

Bonnet¹,

Jeandidier²,

Solaz³

2018

Revue d'Économie Politique

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Empirical evidence has shown that married men generally earn more and married women earn less than their unmarried counterparts. However, the control group of "not married" differs between studies, over time and between countries, such that the message remains somewhat fuzzy. It is not clear whether the type of union or the fact of being in a union is responsible for these wage penalties and premiums. This article aims to analyze whether marriage pays more than cohabitation in a country such as France, where cohabiting and married partnerships have both coexisted for years. Thanks to a rich dataset with information on both the marital and work history of both partners, we are able to estimate the effect on hourly wages of being married relative to being in a cohabiting union. Taking into account selections into marriage (rather than cohabitation) and into the labor market with a possible differential in sharing of paid work within the couple, our results show that the men's marriage premium is due entirely to a positive selection into marriage. While the process of within-couple marital specialization strongly reduces a woman's hourly wage, there is no evidence of any additional marriage penalty for women. The within-couple gender wage gap is similar for married and cohabiting partners, after controlling for selection into marriage. marriage -cohabitation -specialization -marriage premium -earnings Primes et pénalités salariales au mariage versus à la cohabitationLes travaux empiriques montrent que les hommes mariés gagnent généralement plus que les autres et que les femmes mariées gagnent moins. Cependant, le groupe de contrôle des « non marié » diffère selon les études, dans le temps et entre les pays, si bien qu'il n'est pas aisé d'identifier si c'est le type d'union ou le fait d'être en couple qui est à l'origine de ces pénalités ou primes salariales. Cet article vise à analyser si les personnes mariées ont des salaires horaires différents des personnes en couple non marié, en France, pays dans lequel les deux formes d'unions coexistent depuis longtemps. A partir des données de l'enquête Famille et Employeurs [2005], contenant des informations sur l'histoire conjugale et professionnelle des deux partenaires, nous REP 128 (5) septembre-octobre 2018 estimons l'effet du mariage sur le salaire horaire des personnes en couple. En tenant compte de la sélection dans le mariage (plutôt que dans la cohabitation) et sur le marché du travail, et d'un différentiel possible de spécialisation conjugale, nos résultats montrent que la prime au mariage des hommes est entièrement due à une sélection positive dans ce type d'union. La division sexuée du travail au sein du couple diminue fortement le salaire horaire des femmes mais nous ne mettons en évidence aucune pénalité supplémentaire liée au mariage. L'écart salarial entre les partenaires est similaire qu'ils soient mariés ou non mariés, une fois la sélection dans le mariage contrôlée.

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“…This fall would be greater, by 3 percentage points for women and 7 percentage points for men, if couples were formed randomly (no homogamy). Based on a different method, another study (Frémeaux & Lefranc, 2015) estimated that educational homogamy causes a 3% to 10% increase in inequalities between the annual wages of couples. However, these studies disregard the issue of changes over time.…”

Section: Source Scope and Definition Of Wagementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The contribution of this study is first and foremost to analyse the changes over time, whereas the existing research for France (Frémeaux & Lefranc, 2015;Courtioux & Lignon, 2015a) focuses on a single point in time (either a cohort or a survey year). This historical perspective is necessary to identify the impact of the growth in women's employment on inequalities.…”

Section: Source Scope and Definition Of Wagementioning

confidence: 99%

Does women’s employment growth increase wage inequalities between couples? The case of France between 1982 and 2014

Bouchet-Valat¹

2017

Ecostat

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It has often been argued that women's employment growth is a factor that contributes to the increase in inequalities between households due, in particular, to an alleged reinforcement of social homogamy. In contrast to this idea, an accounting approach to inequality decomposition, based on Insee's Labour Force surveys (enquêtes Emploi) shows that wage inequalities between couples aged 30 to 59 remained stable between 1982 and 2014 in France, whereas they would have increased had women's employment rate not risen. This overall stability results from two converse developments, which are themselves linked to the strong growth in women's employment over this period: a fall in wage inequality between women and an increase in the correlation of partners' wages within couples. However, the almost uniform increase in women's employment rate, regardless of their partner's wage level, has limited the increase in the correlation of partners' wages and prevented an increase in wage inequalities between couples.

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Assortative Mating and Earnings Inequality in France

Cited by 15 publications

References 54 publications

Educational Assortative Mating as a Determinant of Changing Household Income Inequality: A 21-Country Study

Educational Assortative Mating as a Determinant of Changing Household Income Inequality: A 21-Country Study

Wage Premium and Wage Penalty in Marriage versus Cohabitation

Does women’s employment growth increase wage inequalities between couples? The case of France between 1982 and 2014

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