Income Inequality Increases When Better Educated People Marry each Other

[unokitty]

A new working paper by an international team of economists finds that better educated people are increasingly more likely to marry other better-educated people while those with less formal schooling are more likely to choose a less well-educated partner.

As a consequence, income inequality has increased because education is strongly correlated with income—the more schooling you have, the more money you typically earn...

Virtually across the board, the income gap between couples with relatively high and those with relatively low levels of education had widened substantially since 1960 relative to the average household income.

For example, in 1960, a husband and wife, each with a high school education, would earn about 103% of the average household income. But in 2005, that same couple would earn only about 83% of the average. At the other end of the education spectrum, a couple in which both partners had done post-graduate work earned about 176% of the mean household income in 1960 but a whopping 219% in 2005.

Expressed another way, the relative earnings of couples with high school degrees had fallen by 20 percentage points relative to the average while the household incomes of highly educated husbands and wives had increased by 43 points. ---PewResearch Fact Tank

Summary of Income Changes since 1960
Well educated couples +43%
Less educated couples -20%

A recent USA TODAY/Pew Research Center poll shows that the majority of the population thinks “the economic system in the country unfairly favours the wealthy” and that the government should do “a lot to reduce the gap between the rich and everyone else.” ... In his 2014 State of the Union Address, US president Barack Obama promised to tackle economic inequality ... --VOX

Two Questions
One
Two well educated people marrying each other. I always perceived that this was a good thing. But since it leads to increased income inequality, is this not such a good thing? What is your opinion?

Two
How, if at all, should this academic finding impact the administration's promise to tackle economic inequality? What is your opinion?

Uno

 

[QuantumPion]

Yes we need a law banning educated people from marrying each other because it's not fair to poor people. What an awesome idea. Social engineering ftw.

 

[nehalem256]

So lets see here:

Poorest people: Families headed by single mom's

Richest people: Families with 2 highly educated professionals.

Seems to me that the real cause of increased inequality is feminism

 

[glenn1]

Income Inequality Increases When Better Educated People Marry each Other

 

[Veliko]

So lets see here:

Poorest people: Families headed by single mom's

Richest people: Families with 2 highly educated professionals.

Seems to me that the real cause of increased inequality is feminism

Well there's a surprise, the resident mysognostic blaming women for something.

 

[Newell Steamer]

This is perfect!!

Now, when an employee approaches their employer for a raise,.. they can be told to just go get married!! Corporation will no longer have to give anyone (other than top management) a raise!

 

[nehalem256]

Well there's a surprise, the resident mysognostic blaming women for something.

Actually I was blaming feminism.

Of course, I notice you didn't bother disagreeing with my analysis. Probably because its pretty much indisputable.

Feminism naturally encourages single motherhood and for educated professional to marry each other. The inevitable result of this is increased inequality.

 

[Veliko]

Actually I was blaming feminism.

Of course, I notice you didn't bother disagreeing with my analysis. Probably because its pretty much indisputable.

Feminism naturally encourages single motherhood and for educated professional to marry each other. The inevitable result of this is increased inequality.

Equality is to blame for inequality?

You should be a standup comedian.

 

[child of wonder]

When two educated people, each with high odds of earning good money, marry they end up having a large combined income?

SHOCKER!

Not only should we prevent people with higher education from marrying, we should also use their income as a guideline as well. If you earn more than $100,000 a year you must marry someone who earns less than that. If you make over $200,000 a year you must marry someone who makes under $50,000. If you make over $1,000,000 a year you must marry an unemployed crack whore with 3 illegitimate children.

 

[JManInPhoenix]

We could euthanize the poor and ugly to solve this problem. Of course that would include me :hmm:

 

[nehalem256]

Equality is to blame for inequality?

You should be a standup comedian.

Equality in one thing can lead to inequality in another.

And again I do not see you bothering to dispute my analysis.

 

[Veliko]

Equality in one thing can lead to inequality in another.

And again I do not see you bothering to dispute my analysis.

Your analysis is backwards.

Achieving equality in one area can expose the existence of inequalities in other areas.

 

[z1ggy]

Wow what a eye opening study!! I never would have guessed this outcome!!!

 

[nehalem256]

Your analysis is backwards.

Achieving equality in one area can expose the existence of inequalities in other areas.

Expose what?

The point is that better educated people marrying each other INCREASED economic inequality. It didn't "expose" it. It INCREASED it.

Sorry that liberalism has "unintended" consequences you don't like.

That made marriage a different institution back then. Men weren't looking for a soulmate, let alone someone to help pay the bills. They were looking for a good wife and mother. So they were willing to marry "down." Now, it doesn't look like that if you focus on how disproportionately likely college-educated men and women were to trade I-dos. But take another look, this time at the shaded areas. Men with a college degree were about as likely to marry women with only a high school degree as you'd expect by chance. And men with a college degree or more were twice as likely to marry a woman who hadn't finished college. This meant there were almost twice as many college-educated men married to women who weren't than were for the simple reason that many more women hadn't graduated from college than had.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business...harry-met-sally-i-explains-inequality/283517/

You can feel that the bolded change has been a good thing. But you cannot deny that said change will naturally lead to increased income inequality.

EDIT: And I am not sure why you are bringing misogyny into things. One could easily argue it has been a positive change for men as they are no longer burdened with wives that are "beneath them".

 

[Veliko]

Expose what?

The point is that better educated people marrying each other INCREASED economic inequality. It didn't "expose" it. It INCREASED it.

Sorry that liberalism has "unintended" consequences you don't like.

What are you talking about? People have always tended to marry within the same social status.

 

[nehalem256]

What are you talking about? People have always tended to marry within the same social status.

And this trend has increased.

But take another look, this time at the shaded areas. Men with a college degree were about as likely to marry women with only a high school degree as you'd expect by chance. And men with a college degree or more were twice as likely to marry a woman who hadn't finished college. This meant there were almost twice as many college-educated men married to women who weren't than were for the simple reason that many more women hadn't graduated from college than had.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business...harry-met-sally-i-explains-inequality/283517/

Also:

Even highly-educated women didn't have many opportunities to earn a lot if they did work outside the home (which many didn't). In other words, most households still only had one big earner, relatively-speaking, regardless of the wife's education.

Feminism has had the effect of increasing the income of more affluent families(by increase the number of dual earning professional families), while at the same time leading to increase in families headed by single women, which tend to be dirt poor.

What about this do you dispute?

 

[Veliko]

And this trend has increased.

Feminism has had the effect of increasing the income of more affluent families(by increase the number of dual earning professional families), while at the same time leading to increase in families headed by single women, which tend to be dirt poor.

What about this do you dispute?

So you concede that people have always tended to marry people who are within their own social status.

As I said before, achieving equality in one area can expose the existence of inequalities in other areas.

 

[glenn1]

So you concede that people have always tended to marry people who are within their own social status.

As I said before, achieving equality in one area can expose the existence of inequalities in other areas.

WTF does your second sentence even mean?

 

[nehalem256]

So you concede that people have always tended to marry people who are within their own social status.

From the OP:

A new working paper by an international team of economists finds that better educated people are increasingly more likely to marry other better-educated people while those with less formal schooling are more likely to choose a less well-educated partner.

Next time try reading the OP so you don't make yourself look like an idiot.

 

[dank69]

WTF does your second sentence even mean?

It's like algebra where you cancel out variables.

 

[Veliko]

From the OP:

Next time try reading the OP so you don't make yourself look like an idiot.

All you're doing is proving what I was saying.

 

[unokitty]

Might I suggest that our current discussion is missing a significant trend identified by the Academic Research. That is:

... the big surprises came in household income trends among couples with relatively more and relatively less education. Virtually across the board, the income gap between couples with relatively high and those with relatively low levels of education had widened substantially since 1960 relative to the average household income.

That is, as the rate of better educated people marrying each other increases, income inequality also increases.

At the same time, a recent USA/TODAY/Pew Research poll that shows that the majority of the population thinks ... the government should do "a lot to reduce the gap between the rich and everyone else."

Doesn't this indicate an inherent conflict? That is, the research discovers a trend where better educated couples marry and income inequality increases. At the same time, polls indicate a desire for the government to reduce the gap between the rich and poor?

Seems like a conflict to me.

Uno

 

[Texashiker]

What are you talking about? People have always tended to marry within the same social status.

People marry who they have access to.

Social status aside, availability is the determining factor for a relationship.

It only makes sense someone marries who they either meet in college or on the job.

 

[thraashman]

So lets see here:

Poorest people: Families headed by single mom's

Richest people: Families with 2 highly educated professionals.

Seems to me that the real cause of increased inequality is feminism

We get it, you hate women!

 

[Atreus21]

Well there's a surprise, the resident mysognostic blaming women for something.

Well, blaming feminists anyway.