The growing economic similarity of spouses has contributed to rising income inequality across households. Explanations have typically centered on assortative mating, but recent work has argued that changes in women's employment and spouses' division of paid work have played a more important role. We expand this work to consider the critical turning point of parenthood in shaping couples' division of employment and earnings. Drawing on three U.S. nationally representative surveys, we examine the role of parenthood in spouses' earnings correlations between 1968 and 2015. We examine the extent to which changes in spouses' earnings correlations are due to (1) changes upon entry into marriage (assortative mating), (2) changes between marriage and parenthood, (3) changes following parenthood, and (4) changes in women's employment. Our findings show that increases in the correlation between spouses' earnings prior to 1990 came largely from changes between marriage and first birth, but increases after 1990 came almost entirely from changes following parenthood. In both instances, changes in women's employment are key to increasing earnings correlations. Changes in assortative mating played little role in either period. An assessment of the aggregate-level implications points to the growing significance of earnings similarity after parenthood for rising income inequality across families.

中文翻译：

---

父母身份后夫妻收入的变化以及家庭收入不平等的趋势。

夫妻之间越来越相似的经济状况导致家庭收入不平等加剧。解释通常以配偶交配为中心，但是最近的工作认为，妇女就业的变化和配偶分担有酬工作起了更为重要的作用。我们扩展这项工作，以考虑父母身份在塑造夫妇的就业和收入分工方面的关键转折点。基于美国的三项全国代表性调查，我们研究了父母身份在1968年至2015年之间对配偶收入相关性的影响。我们研究了配偶收入相关性变化的程度是由于以下因素：（1）结婚后的变化（选择性交配） ），（2）婚姻与父母身份之间的变化，（3）父母身份之后的变化以及（4）妇女就业的变化。我们的研究结果表明，1990年之前配偶的收入之间的相关性增加主要来自婚姻和第一胎之间的变化，而1990年之后的增长几乎完全来自育儿后的变化。在这两种情况下，妇女就业的变化都是增加收入相关性的关键。在这两个时期，交配的变化都起着很小的作用。对总体水平影响的评估指出，育儿后的收入相似性对于家庭收入不平等的加剧具有越来越重要的意义。就业是增加收入相关性的关键。在这两个时期，交配的变化都起着很小的作用。对总体水平影响的评估指出，育儿后的收入相似性对于家庭收入不平等的加剧具有越来越重要的意义。就业是增加收入相关性的关键。在这两个时期，交配的变化都起着很小的作用。对总体水平影响的评估指出，育儿后的收入相似性对于家庭收入不平等的加剧具有越来越重要的意义。