Changes In Marital Status Research Articles

Income Mobility in the United States: New Evidence from Income Tax Data

While many studies have documented the long-term trend of increasing income inequality in the U.S. economy, there has been less focus on income mobility and the potential opportunity for upward mobility. Data from panels of individual income tax returns suggest that there was considerable income mobility in the U.S. economy over the 1987-1996 and 1996-2005 periods. Consistent with prior mobility studies, the data show that over half of taxpayers moved to a different income quintile and that roughly half of taxpayers who began in the bottom income quintile moved up to a higher income group by the end of each period. By contrast, those with the very highest incomes in the base year were more likely to drop to a lower income group and the median real income of these taxpayers declined in each period. Economic growth resulted in rising incomes for most taxpayers over both time periods. Initial position in the income distribution and changes in marital status were found to be associated with the largest upward or downward movements through the income distribution.

Over Time Dynamics of Monetary Intergenerational Exchanges

Using data from 9,674 individuals in three waves of the Health and Retirement Study, we used three latent-class transition models to predict the probabilities of monetary transfers that study participants made to adult children and received from their adult children over a 6-year period of time, from 1998 to 2002. Generally, we found a high degree of stability in over time transition patterns. Whereas time invariant predictor variables (i.e., age, race, and gender) were related to the probabilities of transfers in Wave 1 of the study, these variables were not predictive of over time changes. Only changes in marital status were consistently related to intergenerational exchanges of monetary resources over time.

The Effects of Marital Status and Children on Savings and Portfolio Choice

This paper investigates the impact of demographic shocks on optimal decisions about saving, life insurance, and, most centrally, asset allocation. We analyze these choices within the framework of a life-cycle model that features exogenous changes in family composition, heterogeneity in lifetime income, and uninsurable fluctuations in earnings and medical costs. Our analysis indicates that marital-status transitions and children can have important effects on optimal household decisions. Widowhood induces sharp reductions in the portfolio shares in stock, and the impact is largest for women and individuals with children. Divorce causes men and women to reallocate their portfolios in different directions; men choose much riskier allocations, while women opt for safer ones. Children play a fundamental role in the optimal portfolio decisions. Men with children, for example, increase their shares in response to divorce by less than half as much as men without children. Comparing our simulation results with panel-data evidence on stockholding from the PSID and the HRS, we conclude that changes in marital status and children matter empirically as well, but not always in the ways that the model predicts.

Gain and Loss: Marriage and Wealth Changes Over Time

Family composition has changed dramatically over the past 25 years. Divorce rates increased and remarriage rates declined. While considerable research established a link between marriage and earnings, far less is empirically understood about the effect of marriage on wealth although wealth is an important measure for older individuals because it represents resources available for consumption in retirement. This research employs eight waves of panel data from the Health and Retirement Study to study the relationship between wealth changes and marital status among individuals over age 50. It advances understanding of the relationship by first, incorporating measures of current and lifetime earnings, mortality risk and other characteristics that vary by marital status into models of wealth change; second, measuring the magnitude of wealth loss and gain associated with divorce, widowing and remarriage and third, estimating wealth change before and after marital status change so the change in wealth change is not the result of individuals entering or leaving the household and other sources of unobserved differences are removed from estimates of the effect of marriage on wealth. The results suggest no differences in wealth change over time among individuals that remain married, divorced, widowed, never married and partnered over 7 years. In the short-run there are substantial wealth changes associated with marital status changes. Divorce at older ages is costly, remarriage is wealth enhancing and people appear to change their savings in response to changes in marital status.

Wages Are Flexible, Aren’t They? Evidence from Monthly Micro Wage Data

This paper assesses the degree of wage flexibility in Luxembourg using an administrative data set on individual base wages covering the entire economy over the period 2001-2006 with monthly frequency. We find that the wage flexibility at the discretion of the firm is rather low once we limit measurement error and remove wage changes due to institutional factors (indexation, changes in statutory minimum wage, age and marital status). The so adjusted frequency of wage change lies between 5% and 7%. On average, wages change less often than consumer prices. Less than one percent of (nominal) wages are cut both from month to month and from year to year. Due to automatic wage indexation, wages appear to be subject to substantial downward real wage rigidity. Finally, wage changes tend to be highly synchronised as they are concentrated around the events of wage indexation and the month of January.

Women's Retirement Expectations: How Stable Are They?

Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Mature Women, we examine between- and within-person differences in expected retirement age as a key element of the retirement planning process. The expectation typologies of 1,626 women born between 1923 and 1937 were classified jointly on the basis of specificity and consistency. Latent class analysis was used to determine retirement expectation patterns over a 7-year span. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were employed to estimate the effects of demographic and status characteristics on the likelihood of reporting 4 distinct longitudinal patterns of retirement expectations. Substantial heterogeneity in reports of expected retirement age between and within individuals over the 7-year span was found. Demographic and status characteristics, specifically age, race, marital status, job tenure, and recent job change, sorted respondents into different retirement expectation patterns. The frequent within-person fluctuations and substantial between-person heterogeneity in retirement expectations indicate uncertainty and variability in both expectations and process of expectation formation. Variability in respondents' reports suggests that studying retirement expectations at multiple time points better captures the dynamics of preretirement planning.

Family structure histories and high school completion: Evidence from a population based registry.

The purpose of this paper was to use a life course approach to investigate the association between family structure histories and high school completion. Using data from a population-based data registry for the 1984 Manitoba birth cohort, we selected a sample of children born or adopted at birth into a married or cohabiting two-parent household (n = 9,493) and derived family structure histories for each child up until the age of 18. Marital disruption occurred for 1,876 children (19.8%), with 531 children (5.6%) of the total sample experiencing multiple changes in family structure. Logistic regression models showed that children who experienced marital disruption before the age of 18 were significantly less likely to complete high school than children in intact households, and that children who were younger at the time of a first change in marital status were more vulnerable than children who were older when their parents’ marriage ended. Further work is needed to elucidate the pathways that link family structure histories to child outcomes.

Household diversity and dynamics of recent immigrants in Australia

The family and friends that immigrants live with are important sources of assistance and support, especially in the period immediately following migration. The paper uses data from the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia to examine the living arrangements of recent immigrants, the transitions in household structure they experience during the first few years of settlement and whether the changes in living arrangements are related to other changes that immigrants experience during the early settlement period such as changes in marital and employment status. Multivariate logistic regression models are used to examine the relation between immigrants’ characteristics and their experience of changes in living arrangements. Many live in extended family households soon after arrival, but set up their own households when they are more settled. Changes in immigrants’ household structure and living arrangements during the first few years of settlement are usually related to age, visa category of migration and change in marital status.

The Effect of Marital Status and Children on Savings and Portfolio Choice

This paper investigates the impact of demographic shocks on optimal decisions about saving, life insurance, and, most centrally, asset allocation. We analyze these choices within the framework of a life-cycle model that features exogenous changes in family composition, heterogeneity in lifetime income, and uninsurable fluctuations in earnings and medical costs. Our analysis indicates that marital-status transitions and children can have important effects on optimal household decisions. Widowhood induces sharp reductions in the portfolio shares in stock, and the impact is largest for women and individuals with children. Divorce causes men and women to reallocate their portfolios in different directions; men choose much riskier allocations, while women opt for safer ones. Children play a fundamental role in the optimal portfolio decisions. Men with children, for example, increase their shares in response to divorce by less than half as much as men without children. Comparing our simulation results with panel-data evidence on stockholding from the PSID and the HRS, we conclude that changes in marital status and children matter empirically as well, but not always in the ways that the model predicts.

For better or worse: Relationship status and body mass index

Recent increases in the incidence of obesity and declines in marriage have prompted policymakers to implement policies to mitigate these trends. This paper examines the link between these two outcomes. There are four hypotheses (selection, protection, social obligation and marriage market) that might explain the relationship between marital status transitions and changes in Body Mass Index (BMI). The selection hypothesis suggests that those with a lower BMI are more likely to be selected into marriage. The protection hypothesis states that married adults will have better physical health as a result of the increased social support and reduced incidence of risky behavior among married individuals. The social obligation hypothesis states that those in relationships may eat more regular meals and/or richer and denser foods due to social obligations which may arise because of marriage. Finally, the marriage market hypothesis indicates that when adults are no longer in the marriage market they may not maintain a healthy BMI because doing so is costly and they are in a stable union—or on the other hand, adults may enhance their prospects in the marriage market by losing weight. Taking advantage of longitudinal data and complete marriage histories in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, we estimate individual fixed effects models to examine associations between the change in log BMI and the incidence of overweight and obesity, and changes in relationship status controlling for the effects of aging and other respondent characteristics. We find no support for the marriage protection hypothesis. Rather we find evidence supporting the social obligation and marriage market hypotheses—BMI increases for both men and women during marriage and in the course of a cohabiting relationship. Separate analyses by race and ethnicity reveal substantial differences in the response of BMI to relationship status across these groups.

When the Nest Egg Cracks: Financial Consequences of Health Problems, Marital Status Changes, and Job Layoffs at Older Ages

The risk of falling into poor health, losing the ability to work or live independently, becoming widowed, and experiencing other negative events that threaten financial security increase with age. This report computes the incidence of these negative events at older ages and examines their impact on economic well-being. Over a 10-year period, more than three-quarters of adults age 51 to 61 at the beginning of the period experience job layoffs, widowhood, divorce, new health problems, or the onset of frailty among parents or in-laws. More than two-thirds of adults age 70 and older experience at least one negative shock over a nine-year period. Incidence rates are even higher at the household level for married people, who face the added risk that their spouses could develop health problems or lose their jobs. Financial consequences are especially serious for older adults who develop work disabilities or long-term care needs, or who become unemployed.

Future trends in health and marital status: effects on the structure of living arrangements of older Europeans in 2030.

This article presents the results of projections of older people's living arrangements in 2030 in nine European countries. It analyses expected changes due to future trends in health and marital status. Future changes in the marital status of the older people will result in a higher proportion living in their own homes: women in each age group will more often grow old living with their partner, and this will also apply, to a lesser extent, to men aged 85 and over. Both men and women will be less likely to live alone, with people other than a partner, or in institutions. But for men aged 74-84 the likelihood of choosing one or another type of living arrangement will remain remarkably stable in the future. Further, an improvement in health will lead to older people living alone slightly more often, and they will also more often do so in good health. A comparison of two health scenarios shows that changes in marital status have a major impact on overall trends in living arrangements whereas an improvement in health-which is not certain to occur-will affect them only marginally.

What accounts for the increase in college attainment of women?

The objective of this article is to explain the reduction in the US sex college attainment ratio (SCAR) from 1.57 to 1.19. over the last decades. We use a model where altruistic parents make decisions on daughters and sons' education taking into account the effect of education on earnings, marriage opportunities, fertility and home production. The main finding is that observed changes in earnings and fertility explain part of the decrease in the SCAR, while observed changes in marital status and marital sorting imply a decrease in college attainment of women.

Does Happiness Pay? An Exploration Based on Panel Data from Russia

This paper explores differences in the determinants of long term happiness levels versus those of short term fluctuations. It also departs from the usual analysis of the effects of income on happiness, and explores the effects of happiness on future income. We find, based on panel data for 6500 respondents in Russia for 1995-2000, that static variables such as gender, stable marital status, and education levels, are more likely to have effects on normal happiness levels, while changes in socioeconomic or marital status (particularly divorce) are more likely to cause fluctuations in happiness levels. We also find both happiness and positive expectations for the future in the initial period are positively correlated with higher levels of income in future periods. People with negative perceptions of their own past progress and/or with higher fear of unemployment, meanwhile, increase their incomes less, on average, over the period. The psychology literature attributes stability in happiness levels over time to positive cognitive bias, such as self esteem, control, and optimism. The same factors may be at play here, and enhance individuals' performance in the labor market.

Intervivos Giving Over the Lifecycle

Inter-vivos cash transfers and bequests between family members total hundreds of billions of dollars each year. They may equalize resources within a generation of a family as well as across family generations. Transfers delayed to the end of life may represent a significant motive for saving. The authors use longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study on inter-vivos transfers that span up to twelve years to: describe financial transfers made by parents to children and their correlation with donor characteristics, examine age patterns in giving behavior, the persistence of transfers, and how transfers change in response to changes in marital status, economic status and health. Their empirical analysis is motivated by a dynamic life-cycle model with intervivos transfers as an argument in the utility function which generates hypotheses about the age pattern of transfers and how mortality risk, risk aversion and economic resources affect giving behavior.

How important is the method of tubal sterilization in the outcome after tubal anastomosis?

How important is the method of tubal sterilization in the outcome after tubal anastomosis?

The Relationship between Body Mass Index and Adolescent Well-Being

Background: The substantial increase in youth obesity during the last two decades may have serious biological as well as behavioral/mental health consequences. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess how ecological factors and hence overall well-being were related to body mass index (BMI) in youths. Methods: Three BMI categories (normal; at risk for overweight; overweight) were calculated for 847 adolescents. Behavioral/mental associations were assessed for each category as well as between normal and at risk for overweight and overweight combined. Results: Significant associations existed between BMI and depression, suicidal ideation (combined data), use/abuse of drugs (combined data), race, age, parental marital status, and parental employment status. No significant associations were found between BMI and anxiety, use/abuse of alcohol, or gender. Discussion: The significant associations between BMI and depression/suicidal ideation suggest thorough screening with at-risk youths, especially those from ethnic minority groups and those experiencing changes in parental marital or employment status. Translation to Health Education Practice: It is imperative that health care professionals who work with weight problems attend to the ecological contexts of clients/patients. Data supports the need for collaboration between the medical and mental health communities in this regard.

A fixed-effects multilevel analysis of how community family structure affects individual mortality in Norway

By using register data for the entire Norwegian population aged 50-89 in the period 1980-1999, during which there were about 720,000 deaths, I estimate how the proportions of persons who were divorced or never married in the municipality affected all-cause mortality, net of individual marital status. The data include individual histories of changes in marital status and places of residence, providing a rare opportunity to enter municipality fixed effects into the model, thereby capturing the time-invariant unobserved factors at that level. The positive health externality of marriage that is suggested in the literature is supported by some of the estimates for women. Other estimates--especially those for men--point in the opposite direction. One possible interpretation of these findings is that social cohesion is perhaps not as beneficial for people's health as often claimed, at least not for both sexes. Alternatively, the results may reflect that marriage perhaps undermines rather than strengthens social cohesion, or that other mechanisms are involved-for example, those that are related to people 's perceptions of their health relative to the health of others. Estimates from models without such municipality fixed effects are markedly different, but these also shed doubt on the notion that a high proportion of unmarried persons generally increases individual mortality.

How Do Drug Use and Social Relations Affect Welfare Participation?

This study analyzes whether welfare use is longitudinally related to drug use and various measures of social relations. It conducts secondary analyses on data from a sample of 382 women. The data, which stem from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, were gathered between 1984 and 2002. The results suggest that use of marijuana or cocaine does not affect women’s welfare participation to a statistically significant degree. Attending religious services and receiving low levels of child support are associated with statistically significant declines in welfare participation. Changes in marital status are linked to increases in welfare participation.

Predicting the Changes in Depressive Symptomatology in Later Life

This study examined the unique effects of four variable groups on changes in older adults' depressive symptoms for a 2-year period: (1) baseline health and disability status, (2) changes in health and disability since baseline, (3) stability and changes in marital and caregiving status and in work and volunteering, and (4) stability and changes in health-related behaviors. With data from the 1998 and 2000 interview waves of the Health and Retirement Study, the authors used gender-separate multistep (hierarchical) residualized regression analyses in which the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale (CES-D) score at follow-up is modeled as a function of the effect of each group of independent variables. As hypothesized, changes in health, disability, marital, and caregiving status explained a larger amount of variance than the existing and stable conditions, although each group of variables explained a relatively small amount (0.3-3.4%) of variance in the follow-up CES-D score.