When Work Disappears: Manufacturing Decline and the Falling Marriage-Market Value of Young Men
Open accessAbstract
We exploit the gender-specific components of large-scale labor demand shocks stemming from rising international manufacturing competition to test how shifts in the relative economic stature of young men versus young women affected marriage, fertility and children's living circumstances during 1990-2014.On average, trade shocks differentially reduce employment and earnings, raise the prevalence of idleness, and elevate premature mortality among young males.Consistent with Becker's model of household specialization, shocks to male relative stature reduce marriage and fertility.Consistent with sociological accounts, these shocks raise the share of mothers who are unwed and share of children living in below-poverty, single-headed households.
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Cited by
Sorted by citations
Seltzer, N. (2019) · Demography · doi:10.1007/s13524-019-00790-6 · Cited by 196 · see citing works
- Authors
- Autor, D., Dorn, D., & Hanson, G.
- Affiliations
- National Bureau of Economic Research (US)
- Venue
- National Bureau of Economic Research
- Publisher
- National Bureau of Economic Research
- Published
- 2017-02
- OpenAlex
- W3123202062
- Cited by
- 52
- References
- 33
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 3
- Type
- report
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- doi.org
- Locations
- National Bureau of Economic Research (publishedVersion)
- Zurich Open Repository and Archive (University of Zurich) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science Foundation (1227334)
- Russell Sage Foundation
- Sage Foundation
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung (155804)
- Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (CSD2006-00016)
- Russian Science Foundation
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Economics, Econometrics and Finance › Economics and Econometrics › Labor market dynamics and wage inequality
- Keywords
- manufacturing decline, international trade shocks, labor demand shocks, gender inequality, marriage, fertility, premature mortality, idleness, unmarried mothers, single-headed households, child poverty, household specialization, young men
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