The impact of husbands' and wives' relative earnings on marital disruption

In the last several decades, a shift has occurred in the relative contributions of married women to household earnings. Yet we know little about the impact of relative earnings of husbands and wives on the likelihood of marital disruption. This study estimates a discrete-lime hazard model using data on first married couples from the 1986-1989 waves of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. The relative earnings of husbands and wives are a significant predictor of marital disruption, although the relationship is nonlinear. We suggest this nonlinear effect is linked to the varying economic circumstances of different groups of couples.