A structural decomposition of the marriage premium

Abstract

This thesis examines the wage gap among married and never married men. It is generally accepted that married men will have higher earnings than never married men. An income determination model was created to control for individual, structural, and gender level components. Theories were utilized for each model segment and provide a foundation from which this thesis builds upon. Through univariate, bivariate, and multivariate statistical analysis it was found that net of other factors married men will earn $3,186.00 more per year than never married men. The findings of this thesis provide support for other literature examining the wage gap between married and never married men, commonly referred to as the "marriage premium".