The Effect Of Marital Status On The Standard Of Living Of Young Men And Women

Abstract

The National Longitudinal Survey of Youth data base is used to explore the effects of changes in marital status on the standard of living of a sample of young adults. OLS regression analysis indicates that changes in marital status have very different effects on young women and young men.  Women receive large increases in their income-to-needs ratios when they marry, and they incur large declines in their income-to-needs ratios after experiencing a divorce or separation.  Men, on the other hand, do not experience significant changes in their income-to-needs ratios when their marital status changes.