Work

Earnings, Relative Income, and Family Formation

Year: 1981

Type: article

Abstract: The probability of first marriage for men who graduated from Wisconsin high schools in 1957 was analyzed with respect to their Social Security earnings records, Wisconsin income tax reports for parents, and other variables. The findings provide no support for Easterlin's hypothesis that marriage will occur earlier when young men judge their economic prospects favorably with respect to their parents' income. However, young men's earnings and time spent in schooling to increase them were found to be important influences on marriage timing. Additional schooling had little effect net of the time it absorbed.

Source: Demography

DOI: 10.2307/2061088

Authors: Maurice M. MacDonald, Ronald R. Rindfuss

Institutions: University of Wisconsin–Madison, Institute for Research on Poverty, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Language: English

Topic: Family Dynamics and Relationships

Subfield: Demography

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: bronze

Funders: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

OpenAlex ID: W2150140465