We investigate the effect of own and partner locus of control (LOC) on marital satisfaction using household longitudinal data from Australia. We also examine how the evolution of marital satisfaction over time depends on LOC. LOC indicates whether one believes that one's outcomes are more under...

In direct contrast to conventional wisdom and most economic models of gender differences in age of marriage, we present robust evidence that men and women who are married to differently-aged spouses are negatively selected. Earnings analysis of married couples in the 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000...

I test for welfare-induced migration by comparing AFDC participation in border counties to interior counties in the same state. I assume that migration costs are lower for border county residents. If so, then at a state border with a large cross-border benefit differential, the border counties...

As women have entered the work force and occupational sex-segregation has declined, workers experience increased contact with the opposite sex on the job. Because this contact lowers the cost of search for alternative mates, the sex-mix a worker encounters on the job should affect the...

We study shocks to the coal and steel industries to measure the effect of long-term changes in demand for low-skilled workers on welfare expenditures. The coal and steel industries have historically paid high wages to low-skilled men. We find a substantial increase in welfare expenditures in...

Casual observation of faculty searches by economics departments suggests that search scope varies widely. Some departments search primarily in a narrow subfield, while others search in several general or even all fields. This raises two questions: First, what is the optimal search scope for a...

Previous work shows that higher male wage inequality decreases the share of ever married women in their 20s, consistent with the theoretical prediction that greater male wage dispersion increases the return to marital search. Consequently, male wage inequality should be associated with higher...

Previous work shows that higher male wage inequality decreases the share of ever married women in their 20s, consistent with the theoretical prediction that greater male wage dispersion increases the return to marital search. Consequently, male wage inequality should be associated with higher...