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Changing Marriage Dynamics in the United States, 1990s to 2010s
Erickson, Matt
Erickson, Matt
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Abstract
In this dissertation, I conduct three studies examining how evolving gender norms, economic factors, and other structural forces shaped marriage dynamics among different-sex couples in the United States between the 1990s and the 2010s, each involving analysis of data from the U.S. Current Population Survey. In the first study, I examine the rising proportion of sole-breadwinner married couples in the U.S., analyzing changes in the predictors of such arrangements to better understand the structural forces that might push couples toward a single-earner setup even as individuals increasingly express egalitarian gender ideals. I find that male-sole-breadwinner arrangements have become particularly more likely among couples with young children or multiple children; that men who work in professional or managerial occupations or regularly work 50 or more hours per week have been increasingly likely to serve as sole breadwinners; and that sole-breadwinner couples, whether the sole earner is female or male, have become increasingly economically disadvantaged over time. I conclude that rising childcare costs and evolving professional and managerial work norms may play significant roles in the rise of sole-breadwinner arrangements. In the second study, I examine changes over time in the couple-level economic predictors of cohabitation-to-marriage transitions in the U.S. I find that, between 1996 and 2020, couples in which the man served as the primary breadwinner became less likely to marry relative to couples with a more equal division of earnings or a female-breadwinner setup, and that women’s personal earnings became a more important predictor of marriage over time. I also find these changes to be driven primarily by college-educated couples. Finally, in the third study, I examine trends in internal migration among married couples, assessing whether migration decisions --- historically biased in favor of men's careers -- have become more gender-neutral over time. I find that that co-breadwinner married couples -- those in which both partners have similar incomes -- have become less likely to move long distances over time relative to other couples, which I argue indicates couples have become less likely to uproot women's careers for the benefit of men's. I also find that post-migration income and employment outcomes have become more gender-neutral over time, with women more likely to remain employed after long-distance moves among more highly educated couples and the income gap between spouses less likely to widen after moves among less-educated couples. I conclude with a discussion of implications regarding the relationships between marriage, gender inequality, and broader social inequality.
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Date
2023-05-31
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University of Kansas
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Keywords
Sociology, Cohabitation, Family, Gender, Internal Migration, Marriage