Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/232896 
Year of Publication: 
2021
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 14144
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We investigate the impact of male-female conflict over gender norms on marital outcomes. As marriage requires mutual agreement regarding the role of husband and wife, we hypothesize that a person who is less likely to encounter a potential mate with similar gender norms will face a lower chance of marrying. Even if two parties marry despite a difference in gender norms, their marriage may be more vulnerable to external shocks, making divorce more likely relative to their counterparts without gender norm conflict. Finally, we predict that in the presence of gender norm conflict, high-skilled individuals may be less likely to get or stay married relative to low-skilled individuals, as the former group faces better outside options. Estimates from an analysis of U.S. marriage markets differentiated by birth cohort, state, race, and skill level, support our theoretical predictions. Additional extensions explore heterogeneous effects and additional outcomes such as the presence of children in the household.
Subjects: 
skill gap
divorce
social norms
marriage
gender
JEL: 
J12
J16
J24
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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