title: Wives who outearn their husbands: a transitory or persistent phenomenon for couples?
abstract: In what percentage of married couples do wives outearn their husbands, and, moreover, how persistent are these patterns? This study systematically examined variation in point-in-time estimates across alternative measures of earnings, definitions of types of couples, and data sources and gauged the persistence of these patterns for a period of three calendar years using data from the 2000 Current Population Survey and the 1996-2000 Survey of Income and Program Participation. Among the findings are that in 19% to 30% of all married couples, wives have higher earnings than their husbands. In 60% of such couples, this arrangement persists over the three-year period; for the rest, this arrangement is transitory.
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63121, USA. awinkler@umsl.edu
authors.forename: Anne E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Winkler
authors.forename: Timothy D
authors.initials: TD
authors.lastname: McBride
authors.forename: Courtney
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Andrews
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends*; D018454:Spouses