The male-female wage gap: A test of Becker's hypothesis

Abstract

This study examines the impact of marital status (which affects the household division of labor) on the wage rates of married men, single men, single women, and married women, all of whom demonstrate strong labor force attachment. According to Becker's hypothesis, being married depresses women's wage rate because their household responsibilities reduce their time and energy for market work.

Wage equations were estimated using data from both the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) and the National Longitudinal Survey of Young Women (NLS). Findings indicate that for whites, marriage and household responsibilities are not critical determinants of wage gap. Both married and single women have something in common which depresses their wages relative to those of men. In addition, wage gap analysis indicates that about 61 percent of the wage gap between married men and women and 37 percent of the gap between married men and single women is not explained by human capital characteristics and other variables included in the wage equations. This finding suggests that married women may be more discriminated against than single women or that the wage gap between married men and married women may be more affected by unmeasured factors than that between married men and single women.

For blacks, findings were not consistent across equations and comparison groups. In one equation, married women's wage was lower than that of black married men but black single women's was not--a finding which supports Becker's hypothesis. However, the wages of black single men and women were not significantly higher than those of black married women.

While most findings do not support Becker's hypothesis that marriage and household responsibilities depress the wages of married women compared to other groups, they do not rule out the possibility that the anticipation of marriage leads women to make different choices than men. Occupational choices and attitudes may both lead to lower wages for women compared to men regardless of their marital status.