For love or money: Why married men make more

Productivity, efficiency specialization...these issues are not usually associated with marriage. Beyond love and commitment, however, these less-than-- romantic factors can be important-at least to economists. Statistics show that married men earn approximately 11 percent more per hour than men who have never been married, even after controlling for work experience, education, age and other fac- 14 tors.1 Economists also find that divorced or separated men make about 9 percent more than never-married men do. The wage gap, present at all ages, is even wider for those 45 and older. (See chart.)

Why does this premium occur? Some attribute it to employer discrimination. Others believe that married men make more money because marriage makes them more productive, while still others say that highly productive men are more likely to be married.

Employer Discrimination?

A common perception is that employers' bias may be responsible for the fact that married men earn higher wages. According to this theory, employers take a man's marital status as a signal of how stable or responsible he is and discriminate accordingly. Alternatively, the employers might, either consciously or unconsciously, give preference to married men, all other things equal, when considering promotions and raises on the grounds that the married employee has a family to support.