The Men’s Marriage Premium in the United States: What Remains after Controlling for Publication Bias and Heterogeneity?
Nuwan Indika Millagaha Gedara 
Abstract
Married men earn more than single men, which is a significant finding in labour and family economics. A considerable amount of research literature discusses this estimated wage effect for married men in the United States. This study finds a meaningful impact on wage after controlling for the publication bias with heterogeneity, a considering meta-analysis of 120 estimates. Marriage premium accounts for 6.8% compared to unmarried men with the evidence of publication bias after applying descriptive statistics, funnel graph, simple meta-regression analysis (MRA), and multiple MRAs. Also, this analysis identifies omitted variable bias as another important aspect for explaining this widespread empirical literature.
Keywords: Publication Bias, Meta-analysis, Marriage Wage Premium, Meta-regression Analysis
Volume 12, Issue 2
December 31, 2021
Pages: 53-79
DOI: http://doi.org/10.4038/cbj.v12i2.82
Suggested citation:
Millagaha Gedara, N. I. (2021). The men’s marriage premium in the United States: What remains after controlling for publication bias and heterogeneity? Colombo Business Journal, 12(2), 53-79. http://doi.org/10.4038/cbj.v12i2.82
Nuwan Indika Millagaha Gedara
Department of Economics, Kansas State University, USA
