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Ifo: In marriage, income of women is clearly shrinking
After the wedding, some women give up their jobs. Others take place at work. Marriage has a strong impact on women’s income – in contrast to men of men.
On average, marriage costs women a fifth of their income. This is the result of researchers from the Munich IFO Institute. “Our studies show that in a marriage the differences in income between men and women, and that regardless of the birth of children,” says Ifo researcher Elena Herold. The effects show up within a few years after marriage.
If you look at how the income of men and women changes after a marriage compared to the year before the wedding, there are no greater abnormalities among men, says Herold. In contrast, a severe decline for women will show themselves over a few years.
“However, this is not only due to marriage, because often the first children come in the years after the wedding. But even if you calculate this effect, there is a deterioration in income by 20 percent for women.” Including the effects by children, it is even about half.
The marriage makes the difference, not living together: “With couples who have already lived together before the wedding, we see no other effects than those who only move in with the wedding,” says Herold. Presumably greater legal security caused by marriage to women to shorten when gainful employment.
Hour wages are not affected
The decline in income is not due to worse wages for women. In the case of earnings per hour, there are no relevant changes due to the wedding. Rather, every tenth woman stops working, the rest works about one fifth less, although the effect only occurs over a few years. At the same time, the work done by women in the household does not include about a fifth – child education. This cannot be observed in men.
According to the study, one reason for reducing working hours is incentives in the tax system. “A quarter of the reduction in income among wives can be attributed to spouse splitting,” says Herold. Another aspect are gender roles. “In women who grew up before reunification in East Germany, we see fewer negative effects than in women from West Germany,” says Herold.
The decline in women after marriage is not a purely German phenomenon. Exact income data for international comparisons are difficult to get, says Herold, “but if you look at how many women stop working completely in the years after the wedding, Germany is roughly in the European midfield. In the Netherlands or Ireland, the odds are much higher, as is in Switzerland or Greece.”
dpa
Source: Stern
