A new analysis by Ariel Binder and David Lam using census data finds that marriage matching patterns suggestive of a social preference for men to earn more than their wives are not, in themselves, good evidence for the existence of a male “breadwinner” norm. Given the gender gap in earnings, they say, it can be misleading to infer social preferences based solely on positive marital sorting on earnings. And, as women’s opportunities in the workforce continue to increase, the husband breadwinner notion may be a bit outmoded. The researchers say: “It is possible that labor market change has outpaced social change, and slow-moving gender norms play a key role in generating these extant gender gaps in marriage.”

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