Tuesday, January 19, 2010

NEWS: The New Economics of Marriage

The 'sugar mama' is a more common occurrence these days, according to a report on NPR.

In a new study released by the PEW RESEARCH CENTER*, men seem to be the ones reaping the rewards of being married in the 21st century.

Compared to the 1970's, when women would often marry women to 'get ahead in the world', today many more women are now working, and in a greater variety of jobs, and sometimes even are employed while men are not. In fact, women are more likely to have a higher income than their male counterparts these days, and they are more likely to be higher educated.




i first learned about this study this morning on the radio.

"Americans are considerably better educated than they were four decades ago, which has enabled many adults to upgrade the educational credentials of their spouses" and consequently improve their financial situation. The study also shows how fewer people in general, aged 30 to 44 years old, are married these days. From 1970 to 2007, of those married, the median adjusted household incomes (defined as the sum of financial contributions of all members of the household" rose more than those of the unmarried.

For a look at the complete report, please see the Pew Research Centre's website for a pdf of the entire study.

*PLEASE NOTE: i am acutely aware of the discriminatory nature of the data, as it refers to strictly 'man as husband and woman as wife'-type heterosexual marriages. This in NO way reflects my beliefs as to what marriage is or should be.

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