SCHOOLING, MARRIAGE, AND MALE AND FEMALE CONSUMPTION

A marriage matching model is estimated to quantify the share of returns to education that is realized through marriage. In the model, more educated agents earn higher wages in the labor market, and are more productive in housework. Men and women who marry benefit from the presence of household public goods, complementarities in household production, and the division of labor between spouses. The predictions of the model are matched with NLSY data on sorting in marriage, and data on the allocation of time from a time use study. Counterfactual analysis for men and women at age 40, suggests that better marital outcomes generate 65 percent of the return to education for women around middle age and 20 percent of the corresponding return for men