Volume 22, Number 2 (Spring) 1987
Nakosteen, Robert A. and Michael A. Zimmer. 1987. "Marital Status and Earnings of Young Men: A Model with Endogenous Selection." Journal of Human Resources 22(2):248-268.
It is a matter of course in applied labor economics to presume that marital status is a predetermined contributor to earnings among young males. We find no evidence to support that proposition. We estimate a model of earnings determination that permits endogenous selection of marital status. Our estimates are based on a sample of young employed males from the Michigan Panel Survey of Income Dynamics. They indicate that marital status, viewed in this manner, does not significantly shift the mean earnings profile. Our sensitivity tests indicate that this conclusion is robust with respect to a variety of alternative specifications.
Nakosteen is an associate professor of general business and finance at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Zimmer is an associate professor of economics at the University of Evansville, Indiana. The authors wish to acknowledge benefits from productive insights of anonymous referees.
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