The quality of marriage suffers when wives earn more than their husbands, according to research from the University of Chicago and the National University of Singapore published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER). In a working paper entitled Gender Identity and Relative Income within Households, researchers Marianne Bertrand, Jessica Pan, and Emir Kamenica sought to find out if gender identity does have an impact on the “gender gap in labor market outcomes” and if this influences the formation of marriage and the division of labor at home by focusing particularly on the specific behavioral prescription that “a man should earn more than his wife.” What they uncovered is certainly food for thought in families where women have become the primary breadwinners.
Analyzing U.S. Census Bureau data from 1970 to 2010, the researchers found that the higher the women’s earnings are the less likely they will want to marry. Individuals are averse to situations where the wife earns more such that “the relative increase in women’s income” have led to a “decline in marriage rates” in the decades studied.
In situations where the wife earns more or has the potential to earn more than her husband, the working paper reveals that she distorts labor market outcomes in either of two ways: 1) By not working at all and choosing to stay at home or 2) By reducing her earnings so that her husband does not feel threatened. Strategies for accomplishing the latter include working fewer hours or taking a job that pays less than what her husband is receiving. Gender identity considerations also lead wives who out-earn their husbands to take on a larger share of the housework.
How do couples fare in terms of marital stability when the wife is the one earning the big bucks? Not well, unfortunately. Using data from the National Survey of Families and Households from 1987-1988 and 1992-1994, the researchers reported that in these marriages, “spouses are 7 percentage points (15%) less likely to report that their marriage is very happy, 8 percentage points (32%) more likely to report marital troubles in the past year, and 6 percentage points (46%) more likely to have discussed separating in the past year.”
With 37 percent or 5.1 million wives earning more than their husbands according to a Pew Research Center report, the results of this working paper is sure to get the attention of couples living with this arrangement. It’s worth noting the reactions from those who have successfully practiced this setup do not seem to hint of marriage on the rocks.