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The Relationship Between Wife’s Education and Husband’s Earnings: Evidence from 1960 to 2000

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Abstract

Previous research finds a positive relationship between a wife’s education and her husband’s earnings using data from the 1960s. Earlier theories suggest that benefits accrue from informational sharing between partners in a marriage. This paper tests the hypothesis that a wife’s education is positively associated with her husband’s earnings, using data from the 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, and 2000 Censuses. Between 1960 and 2000, the educational attainment and labor-force participation of married women has increased dramatically. As women have embarked upon their own careers, has their education continued to be positively associated with their husbands’ earnings? Yes. The coefficient of the wife’s education remains positive and significant for all the years under study. The size of the coefficient decreases, however, from 1960 to 2000.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, College of Business Administration, The University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA, 50614-0129, USA

    Lisa K. Jepsen

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  1. Lisa K. Jepsen
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Correspondence to Lisa K. Jepsen.

Additional information

I thank Kathryn Anderson, David Hakes, Christopher Jepsen, Robert Margo, Ken McCormick, Janet Rives, John Siegfried, David Weiskopf, participants at the 2003 Western Economic Association International annual conference, the editor, and two anonymous referees for helpful comments. The University of Northern Iowa provided financial support for this research through a Summer Fellowship.

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Jepsen, L.K. The Relationship Between Wife’s Education and Husband’s Earnings: Evidence from 1960 to 2000. Rev Econ Household 3, 197–214 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11150-005-0710-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11150-005-0710-4

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