Why Does Spousal Education Matter for Earnings? Assortative Mating and Cross-Productivity

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Labor Economics
Year: 2009
Volume: 27
Issue: 4
Pages: 633-652

Authors (4)

Chong Huang (not in RePEc) Hongbin Li (Stanford University) Pak Wai Liu (not in RePEc) Junsen Zhang (Zhejiang University)

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

Spousal education is correlated with earnings for two reasons: cross-productivity between couples and assortative mating. This article empirically disentangles the two effects by using Chinese twins data. We have two innovations: using twins data to control for the unobserved mating effect in our estimations and estimating both current and wedding-time earnings equations. We find that both crossproductivity and mating are important in explaining the current earnings. Although the mating effect exists for both husbands and wives, the cross-productivity effect mainly runs from Chinese husbands to wives. Our findings shed light on the theories of human capital, marriage, and the family. (c) 2009 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:ucp:jlabec:v:27:y:2009:i:4:p:633-652
Journal Field
Labor
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-25