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Title: Non-married motherhood and labor market prospects in the United States, 1960-2000
Citation Type: Working Paper
Publication Year: 2006
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Abstract: In recent decades, the concept of family has been fundamentally changed. An essentialdimension of changing behavior is the sharp rise in out-of-wedlock childbearing. The centralissue of non-married motherhood is more related to the diminishing willingness to marry thana changing attitude toward fertility. In a setting where individuals choose marriage because ofthe gains from joint production of child quality as well as the division of labor, the declininggains from specialization for men influence potential spouse selection. Men and women withfewer labor market prospects become less desirable, and consequently a marriage market withmore positive assortative mating will be observed. Our empirical results indicate an increasein the homogeneity of wages between spouses over this period regardless of whether wecontrol for education. In particular, black couples are more positively assorted than whitecouples although the trend converges by the end of the century. We also show that themarriage market is tilted towards better-educated men and women over the period. Thesefindings are consistent with the theory which explains why single motherhood is moreconcentrated among less-educated women.
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Authors: Kuo, Yu-Chen
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Institution: Feng Chia University
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Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Education, Family and Marriage, Fertility and Mortality
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