社会规范、劳动力市场机会与熟练女性和非熟练女性之间的结婚率差距
Social Norms, Labour Market Opportunities, and the Marriage Gap Between Skilled and Unskilled Women
Review of Economic Studies · 2020 · Marianne Bertrand、Patricia Cortés、Claudia Olivetti、Jessica Pan
中文摘要
在大多数发达国家，熟练女性的结婚率低于技能较低的女性。我们记录了熟练女性与非熟练女性之间的结婚率差距随时间演变的跨国异质性。随着女性劳动力市场机会的改善，这一差距在一些国家不断扩大，而在另一些国家则不断缩小。我们对一个理论模型进行了比较静态分析。在该模型中，社会对就业女性的负面态度可能是熟练女性结婚率相对较低的原因之一，也可能使她们的劳动力市场前景与婚姻结果之间呈现非单调关系。对于社会对就业女性的态度较为保守或较少保守的不同经济体，该模型预测了熟练女性与非熟练女性之间的结婚率差距将如何随劳动力市场机会的变化而变化。我们利用涵盖26个发达国家的面板数据以及美国各州的面板数据，验证了该模型的关键预测。
Abstract
Abstract In most of the developed world, skilled women marry at a lower rate than less skilled ones. We document heterogeneity across countries in how the marriage gap between skilled and unskilled women has evolved over time. As labour market opportunities for women have improved, the marriage gap has been growing in some countries but shrinking in others. We discuss the comparative statics of a theoretical model in which the (negative) social attitudes toward working women might contribute to the relatively lower marriage rate of skilled women and might also induce a non-monotonic relationship between their labour market prospects and their marriage outcomes. The model delivers predictions about how the skilled–unskilled marriage gap should react to changes in labour market opportunities across economies with more or less conservative attitudes toward working women. We verify the key predictions of this model in a panel of 26 developed countries, as well as in a panel of U.S. states.