Trends in couples’ work patterns after childbirth and implications for social inequality Seminar

Wives’ financial contributions have become a common component of the marriage bargain, yet wives continue to shoulder a disproportionate share of domestic responsibilities, particularly after a first child is born. This project uses newly available, short-term panels spanning recent decades to examine joint changes in men’s and women’s work and earnings following the transition to parenthood in the United States. It further considers the implications of these changes for aggregate trends in earnings inequality over time, addressing the broad implications of transformations in the meaning of marriage for social inequality.