The nature and direction of the relationship between wives' income and mari
tal quality are investigated in this research. Competing hypotheses are tes
ted using panel data for a nationally representative sample of 771 married
women and men (not couples) and structural equation modeling. The results i
ndicate that increases in wives' income do not significantly affect either
husbands' or wives' perceptions of marital discord. Instead, increases in m
arital discord contribute significantly to increases in wives' income. Furt
her increases in marital discord contribute to increases in wives income by
increasing the likelihood that nonemployed wives will enter the labor forc
e.