JOURNAL ARTICLE
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The Male Marital Wage Premium in Germany: Selection versus Specialization
Barg, Katherin | Beblo, Miriam
Journal of Contextual Economics – Schmollers Jahrbuch, Vol. 127 (2007), Iss. 1 : pp. 59–73
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Barg, Katherin
Beblo, Miriam
Abstract
Empirical research consistently confirms a marital wage premium (MWP) for men, which is explained by selection (high earnings potentials being more attractive on the marriage market) or specialization (husbands being more productive because their wives take over household chores). We investigate the MWP in Germany using a shifting panel design for marriages between 1993 and 2003 in the German Socio-Economic Panel. Non-parametric matching of marrying men (treatment group) with single or cohabiting men (control groups) reveals that husbands' higher wages are mostly due to positive selection. There is rather weak evidence for specialization to explain the conditional MWP between married and cohabiting men.