Replication data for: Specialization Then and Now: Marriage, Children, and the Gender Earnings Gap across Cohorts

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Chinhui Juhn; Kristin McCue

Name	File Type	Size	Last Modified
cps			10/12/2019 06:28:PM
sipp-ssa			10/12/2019 06:28:PM
Juhn_McCue_README.pdf	application/pdf	71.5 KB	10/12/2019 02:28:PM
LICENSE.txt	text/plain	14.6 KB	10/12/2019 02:28:PM

Project Citation:

Juhn, Chinhui, and McCue, Kristin. Replication data for: Specialization Then and Now: Marriage, Children, and the Gender Earnings Gap across Cohorts. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2017. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-10-12. https://doi.org/10.3886/E113984V1

Project Description

Summary: In this paper, we examine the evolution of the gender gap associated with marriage and parental status, comparing cohorts born between 1936 and 1985. The model of household specialization and division of labor introduced by Becker posits that when forming households, couples will exploit the gains from trade by having one spouse specialize in market work while the other specializes in household work. Given the historical advantage of men in the labor market, the model predicts specialization by gender and therefore an earnings advantage for married men and an earnings disadvantage for married women. Is this model of specialization useful for understanding the evolution of the gender gap across generations of women? And what about children? Academic papers have shown that wages of mothers are significantly lower than those of non-mothers with similar human capital characteristics. We do not attempt to build a structural model here, but rather document how changing associations between marriage and earnings, and between children and earnings, have contributed to the gender gap in an "accounting" sense.

Scope of Project

JEL Classification:
      J12 Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse
      J13 Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth
      J16 Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
      J24 Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
      J31 Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
      J71 Labor Discrimination

Related Publications

Download this project

Published Versions

V1 [2019-10-12]

Export Metadata

Dublin Core

DDI 2.5

Report a Problem

Found a serious problem with the data, such as disclosure risk or copyrighted content? Let us know.

This material is distributed exactly as received from the data depositor. As of April 2026, depositors are required to submit study materials in accessible formats. ICPSR has not reviewed, checked, or processed this material. For additional information about the study, please contact the investigator(s) directly. If you have questions about the accessibility of materials distributed by ICPSR or require further assistance, please visit ICPSR's Accessibility Center.