Assortative mating and ethnicity in the low wage population: an examination of spouses' earnings

Abstract

Social scientists have long maintained an interest in the socioeconomic underpinnings of marital formation. Considerable research has focused on patterns of spouse selection which tend to pair individuals of like characteristics. One area which invites more research involves assortative mating of labour market characteristics such as hours worked and hourly wages. This study examines correlations among husband-wife pairs in the low-income population. Based on a special data extract from the Seattle-Denver income maintenance experiments, regression models of wages and hours worked are estimated separately for husbands and wives. Residuals from these models are used to estimate husband-wife correlations in unmeasured labour market traits. Results indicate evidence to support the hypothesis that spouse-selection patterns are not consistent across race groups and point to the need for further research.