We investigate the earnings effects of marriage among same-sex couples in the United States. Gays and lesbians in the United States have only recently been allowed to enter into legally recognized marriages. As such, we know little about the impact of same-sex marriage on the economic lives of gays and lesbians. We use data from the 2013 to 2017 American Community Survey to show that married gay men experience a 3% marriage earnings premium and lesbian women experience a 6% marriage earnings premium relative to their unmarried cohabiting counterparts. The marriage premium for gay men is smaller than that of heterosexual married men, but the lesbian marriage premium is similar in size to the premium for heterosexual women. In both cases, we show that the marriage premium is larger relative to single gay men and lesbian women in the 2013 to 2017 National Health Interview Surveys. We also find that the marriage premium is more than two times larger among individuals who earn more than their partners, and marriage increases intrahousehold differences in labor market outcomes. This pattern is consistent with a common explanation of the earnings premium experienced by heterosexual men and women: marriage increases investments in relationships that affect patterns of household specialization. Therefore, our results suggest that the effect of marriage on how households organize their time is general and not unique to different-sex households.

中文翻译：

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为了爱情和金钱？同性伴侣的收入和婚姻

我们调查了美国同性伴侣婚姻对收入的影响。美国的男同性恋者和女同性恋者直到最近才被允许缔结法律认可的婚姻。因此，我们对同性婚姻对同性恋者经济生活的影响知之甚少。我们使用 2013 年至 2017 年美国社区调查的数据显示，已婚男同性恋的婚姻收入溢价为 3%，女同性恋者的婚姻收入溢价比未婚同居同行高 6%。男同性恋的婚姻溢价比异性恋已婚男性小，但女同性恋的婚姻溢价与异性恋女性的婚姻溢价相似。在这两种情况下，我们表明，在 2013 年至 2017 年的全国健康访谈调查中，婚姻溢价相对于单身男同性恋和女同性恋而言更高。我们还发现，收入高于伴侣的个人的婚姻溢价是其两倍以上，婚姻增加了家庭内部劳动力市场结果的差异。这种模式与异性恋男性和女性所经历的收入溢价的常见解释一致：婚姻增加了对影响家庭专业化模式的关系的投资。因此，我们的结果表明，婚姻对家庭如何安排时间的影响是普遍的，并非异性家庭所独有。我们还发现，收入高于伴侣的个人的婚姻溢价是其两倍以上，而婚姻增加了家庭内部劳动力市场结果的差异。这种模式与异性恋男性和女性所经历的收入溢价的常见解释一致：婚姻增加了对影响家庭专业化模式的关系的投资。因此，我们的结果表明，婚姻对家庭如何安排时间的影响是普遍的，并非异性家庭所独有。我们还发现，收入高于伴侣的个人的婚姻溢价是其两倍以上，婚姻增加了家庭内部劳动力市场结果的差异。这种模式与异性恋男性和女性所经历的收入溢价的常见解释一致：婚姻增加了对影响家庭专业化模式的关系的投资。因此，我们的结果表明，婚姻对家庭如何安排时间的影响是普遍的，并非异性家庭所独有。婚姻增加了对影响家庭专业化模式的关系的投资。因此，我们的结果表明，婚姻对家庭如何安排时间的影响是普遍的，并非异性家庭所独有。婚姻增加了对影响家庭专业化模式的关系的投资。因此，我们的结果表明，婚姻对家庭如何安排时间的影响是普遍的，并非异性家庭所独有。