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Comparative Study
. 2005 Aug;42(3):523-35.
doi: 10.1353/dem.2005.0028.

Wives who outearn their husbands: a transitory or persistent phenomenon for couples?

Anne E Winkler  1 , Timothy D McBride, Courtney Andrews
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Wives who outearn their husbands: a transitory or persistent phenomenon for couples?

Anne E Winkler et al. Demography. 2005 Aug.

Abstract

In what percentage of married couples do wives outearn their husbands, and, moreover, how persistent are these patterns? This study systematically examined variation in point-in-time estimates across alternative measures of earnings, definitions of types of couples, and data sources and gauged the persistence of these patterns for a period of three calendar years using data from the 2000 Current Population Survey and the 1996-2000 Survey of Income and Program Participation. Among the findings are that in 19% to 30% of all married couples, wives have higher earnings than their husbands. In 60% of such couples, this arrangement persists over the three-year period; for the rest, this arrangement is transitory.

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