@article{Assortative:1881,
      recid = {1881},
      author = {Tuncay, Muhammed Alparslan},
      title = {Assortative Mating and Inequality},
      publisher = {University of Chicago},
      school = {Ph.D.},
      address = {2019-06},
      pages = {60},
      abstract = {This paper studies the evolution of assortative mating  based on the permanent income (the individual-specific  component of income) in the U.S., its role in the increase  in family income inequality, and the factors behind this  evolution. I first document a remarkable trend in the  assortative mating, as measured by the permanent-income  correlation of couples, across families formed around 1970  and those formed around 1990. I show that this trend  accounts for almost one-third of the increase in family  income inequality across these family cohorts. I then argue  that the increased marriage age across these cohorts  contributed to the assortative mating and thus to the  rising inequality. Individuals face a large degree of  uncertainty about their permanent incomes early in their  careers. If they marry early, as most individuals around  1970 did, this uncertainty leads to weak marital sorting  along permanent income levels. But when marriage is  delayed, as around 1990, the sorting becomes stronger as  individuals are more able to predict their likely future  incomes. After providing reduced-form evidence on the  impact of marriage age, I build and estimate a marriage  model with income uncertainty, and show that the increase  in marriage age can explain almost 75 percent of the  increase in the assortative mating.},
      url = {http://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/1881},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.6082/uchicago.1881},
}