Gay Cohabitation And Wages

Many studies in labor economics document that married men earn substantially more than single men. Two competing hypotheses are used to explain this correlation. First, marriage makes men more productive. Having a wife at home lets married men "invest" more in skills valued by employers, increasing their productivity at work. Or maybe it is the most productive men who are successful in the marriage market and find wives. My reading of the literature is that there's probably some truth to both of these arguments.

Here is some related research about the wage effects of gay cohabitation by Madeline Zavodny:

It is well-known that married men earn more than comparable single men, with typical estimates of the male marriage premium in the range of 10 to 20 percent...This study uses data from the General Social Survey and the National Health and Social Life Survey to examine whether a similar premium accrues to gay men who live with a male partner...Controlling for observable characteristics, cohabiting gay men do not earn significantly more than other gay men or more than unmarried heterosexual men.

Putting aside any type of selection argument, it would seem that whatever it is about heterosexual marriage that makes married men more productive is absent in gay households. It's easy to come up with a number of possible explanations about what is going on (the presence of children, more specialization in heterosexual unions). One big caveat: the contrast would be much more informative if the study could compare married gay men and married heterosexual men. So I suspect we haven't heard the last on this.

Comments

[yave begnet]

One potential explanatory factor for the difference might be the social capital that straight married couples accrue at work and elsewhere, which could translate to higher earnings. "Bob is a good guy--married, two kids. He's the right man for the promotion." Given widespread discrimination against gays and gay couples, these benefits of social approval wouldn't as often transfer to gay partnerships.

[g.c.n.]

Employers might also feel a moral or social obligation to give promotions or bonuses to married men because of the expectation that married men have to 'support a family.' Even if the married man and his wife don't have a child at present, there is still an expectation that a baby is on its way. In that sense, the earnings of cohabiting gay men might as well be compared with that of single men because employers expect that these men are spending their disposable income on selfish consumer goods and pleasures rather than the social responsibility of raising another human being. As the above commenter mentioned, marital status can increase social capital because it is a sign of accepting and promoting social 'norms' and morals. I doubt this marriage premium would work the same way for married gay men residing in states where gay marriage is allowed.

[Gary]

Could also be that being married makes a guy feel more responsible, even if his wife earns a good salary on her own. My wife has a fairly high paying job, but when push comes to shove, it's my feeling that the ultimate burden of providing for our family is mine, not hers. I don't think that mentality is unusual (some, like Dee, might view it is horribly backward, and that's OK). When you have that outlook, you can't help but bring that attitude to your work. Responsible, dependable behavior at home usually carries over to your job, and vice versa.

[Emily]

You brought up children, but skimming over the study, I don't think children were brought up at all, which strikes me as extremely strange. I've never read a study, but personal experience and life experience tell me that the larger the family, the more driven and productive the man. The comments, in addition to the study, really surprise me. Perhaps it's who one hangs around, I guess. My own husband gets teased about all the overtime he works, "You've got to do it or those babies will starve...". A good friend of mine, and mother of eight, has a husband who works ungodly amounts of overtime and she always responded when a person's eyes bulged out of their head in reaction to his hours, "It's what has allowed me to stay home all these years."

[Laura]

Does the study take into account the earning trend for cohabiting heterosexual men? If so, is there an observable difference with married heterosexual men? This nuance could inform further conclusions: for example, it might point to bias in favor of married men or against homosexual men.

[Mike Hunter]

I think it would be worth while to investigate a competing hypothesis. Married men earn more because they have to.

Lots of men would be happy with a lower salary, less responsibility, and more free time; however this is not possible if you have a family to support. But many men are put in the position of being forced to earn more in order to support other dependants. This is especially true since in the United States women are the only one’s who can decide to unilaterally terminate their parental right’s and responsibilities after a pregnancy has already occurred. Men on the other hand are expected and legally required to shut up and pay up.

It's also interesting to note that while married men make more money this does not necessarily make them more 'wealthy'. This is because the extra money being earned is going to increased expenses not voluntarily incurred by the primary (and some times solitary) bread winner.

[John]

Married men earn more because they have to? That is a presumptuous statement assuming gay men and women do not have children. In fact approximately 25% of gay male couples have children and over 30% of lesbian couples. There should be no discrimination in pay regardless of the reason. A job should pay what it pays regardless of who it is paying it to. To presume that gay men are worth less in society than straight men is simply ridiculous. Gay men pay the same taxes (paying for your kids to go to school) and should be entitled to the same benefits of those taxes. Straight society cannot have it both ways- condemn gays and lesbians to lives without basic human rights and then expect them to pay the same tax burdens as everyone else. If they are not being protected the same, if they are not entitled to the same, if they are being paid less, they have every right to find fault in the system. While I agree that men are the one's who have been ignored recently with women surpassing men in pay in NYC and other cities and women having more rights to their family than men, I do not agree that straight men earn more because they have to. That simply assumes all gay men are single and have no one else to support. That is simply far fetched.