Gender Identity and Relative Income within Households
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Level 3 by design analogy (non-clinical econometric study using observational population and time-use survey data).
OpenAlex W2891179659 · doi:10.3386/w19023
What was done
The authors examined the relationship between relative income within households and gender identity norms (specifically social aversion to wives earning more than husbands). Using demographic, survey, and time-use data, they evaluated marriage formation across marriage markets, female labor force participation, realized income versus potential income, self-reported marital satisfaction, divorce likelihood, and household division of non-market labor.
What was found
The abstract reports directional findings without specific numerical estimates: the distribution of the wife's share of household income drops sharply at 0.5. Across marriage markets, higher probability of a woman outearning a man was associated with reduced marriage rates. When a wife's potential income exceeded her husband's, she was less likely to work and earned less than her potential if employed. Marriages where wives earned more than husbands exhibited lower marital satisfaction, higher divorce rates, and a larger gender gap in home production/non-market work.
Why it matters
This study provides an empirical economic framework demonstrating how traditional gender identity norms can distort household formation, female labor supply, and intra-household time allocation.
Limits
The abstract provides no sample sizes, demographic details, timeframes, or specific numerical effect sizes and confidence intervals. As an observational analysis, findings may be vulnerable to unmeasured confounding across households.
Cited by
- contradicts Research shows a direct positive correlation between the amount of housework a husband performs and the size of his wife's paycheck.