Study: More Money Leads to Earlier Marriage for Young Men -- But Not for Young Women 5/20/2003
From: Yu Xie of the University of Michigan, 734-936-0039 E-mail: yuxie@umich.edu WASHINGTON, May 20 -- High earnings significantly increase the likelihood that a young man will "tie the knot," according to a study published in the May issue of the journal, Demography. Men with high past earnings or high future earnings potential are more likely to marry than similar men with low earnings, report Yu Xie, a University of Michigan demographer; James Raymo of the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Kimberly Goyette, Temple University; and Arland Thornton, University of Michigan. But earnings made no difference in a woman's chances of marrying, they found. "While men might postpone marriage until they think they can afford it, we speculate that women as a group are divided," said Xie. "Economic independence means late marriage at least for some women." The findings are based on 854 white children born in the Detroit area in 1961 who were tracked between 1962 and 1993. The calculations of earning potential are unique, taking into account past work history, education level, cognitive ability, and for college graduates both college quality and field of study. The researchers found that earnings neither hastened nor delayed cohabitation for men and women, suggesting that cohabitation is an alternative track for some youth who cannot afford to marry. "Economic resources hasten marriage but not cohabitation for men," Xie said. The study also shows that cohabitation is a less common option for more highly educated women. The more schooling a woman had, the less likely she was to cohabitate: Each additional year of schooling reduced her chance of cohabiting by one fifth, they found. The research was sponsored by the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development. Demography is the peer-reviewed journal published by the Population Association of America. ------ The full article, titled "Economic Potential and Entry into Marriage and Cohabitation" is available on http://www.prb.org/cpipr Username is cpipr; password demography. Or call the Center for Public Information on Population Research, 202-939-5414. The Center, a project of the Population Reference Bureau, is funded by the National Institute on Child Health and Human Development. |