The emergence of the socioeconomic gradient in women's marriage outcomes
Files
Accepted manuscript
Date
2024-08-22
Version
Accepted manuscript
OA Version
Citation
C. Olivetti, M.D. Paserman, L. Salisbury, E.A. Weber. "The Emergence of the Socioeconomic Gradient in Women's Marriage Outcomes" Review of Economics and Statistics, pp.1-29. https://doi.org/10.1162/rest_a_01481
Abstract
We present new findings about the relationship between marriage and socioeconomic background in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Imputing socioeconomic status of family of origin from first names, we document a socioeconomic gradient for women in the probability of marriage and the socioeconomic status of husbands, which widens over this period. Regional divergence in occupational structure explains half of the divergence in the probability of marriage, and most of the increase in marital sorting. Urbanization and the associated improvement in women's labor market opportunities drive most of these differences.