Full Citation

Title: Women’s Progress for Men’s Gain? Gender-Specific Changes in the Return to Higher Education as Measured by Family Standard-of-Living, 1990 to 2010

Citation Type: Miscellaneous

Publication Year: 2015

ISBN:

ISSN:

DOI:

NSFID:

PMCID:

PMID:

Abstract: This study investigates gender-specific changes in the total financial return to education among the prime working-age (i.e., 35 to 44) population using Census data from 1990 and 2000, and the 2009-2011 American Community Survey. We define the total financial return to education as the family standard-of-living as measured by family income adjusted for family size. Our results indicate that women experienced significant progress in educational attainment and labor market outcomes over this time period. In 1990, women aged 35 to 44 are less educated than men, but women overtake men in 2010. Personal earnings grew faster for women than men over this period. Ironically, married women’s progress has led to faster improvement in the family standard-of-living for men than for women themselves. The previously observed married women’s advantage in the family standard-of-living almost completely disappeared by 2010. Gender-specific changes in educational mating are mostly responsible for this paradoxical trend. Because the number of women who are highly educated exceeds the number of men in the marriage market, the likelihood of educational marrying-up has substantially increased for men over time while women’s likelihood has decreased. Consequently, women’s return to education through marriage declined while men’s financial gain through marriage increased considerably.

Url: https://paa.confex.com/paa/2016/mediafile/ExtendedAbstract/Paper1875/EduReturnGender_06_PAA.pdf

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Kim, ChangHwan; Sakamoto, Arthur

Publisher: University of Kansas

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Family and Marriage, Gender, Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Other

Countries: