MEN, MONEY, AND MARRIAGE - ARE HIGH EARNERS MORE PRONE THAN LOW EARNERS TO MARRY

Objective. Most empirical research on earnings reveals that married me n earn more than never married or divorced men. This research addresse s the question of whether married men are seen to earn more because th ey are economically attractive candidates for marriage in the first pl ace. Methods. Data on young employed men are taken from three waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). We exploit the longitudina l nature of the PSID to model individual transitions in marital status as functions of variables that capture men's earnings prospects. Resu lts. Single men who are characterized by favorable earnings residuals are more likely to marry. Married men with favorable expected earnings are less prone to divorce. Conclusion. The observed earnings premium of married men results in part from economic selection of high earners into marriage.