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Author: Raley, Kelly
Resulting in 4 citations.
1. Kuo, Janet
Raley, Kelly
Job Autonomy and Marriage Formation: A Comparison between Men and Women
Presented: San Francisco CA, Population Association of America Meetings, May 2012
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Gender Differences; Income; Marriage; Occupational Choice; Occupational Status

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Using data from the NLSY 97, this paper investigates how work-related assets (income, status, and autonomy) shape young adults’ transition to first marriage. We hypothesize that the relationship between work-related assets and marriage varies by age as well as gender and find that for women income is a stronger positive predictor of marriage in the mid-to late-20s than at earlier ages. Additionally, non-monetary aspects of work also matter. Occupational autonomy—being able to structure one’s own work—facilitates entry into first marriage for women in their mid-to late-20s but not in their late teens and early 20s. In contrast, for men, job autonomy has no effect on marriage formation at these ages. When job autonomy and income are taken into account, occupational status does not have a statistically significant association with marriage formation for either women or men.
Bibliography Citation
Kuo, Janet and Kelly Raley. "Job Autonomy and Marriage Formation: A Comparison between Men and Women." Presented: San Francisco CA, Population Association of America Meetings, May 2012.
2. McClendon, David
Kuo, Janet
Raley, Kelly
The Labor of Love: Occupational Education and the Transition to First Marriage
Presented: New Orleans LA, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 2013
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): Cohabitation; College Education; Education; Marriage; Occupations

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Explanations for the marriage gap by educational attainment in the US emphasize the economic and cultural attractiveness of a college degree on the marriage market. However, education may also shape the opportunities that men and women have to meet other college-educated partners, particularly in contexts with significant educational stratification. We focus on work—and the social ties it supports—and consider whether the educational composition of one’s occupation is important for marriage formation. Employing discrete-time event history methods using the NLSY-97, we find that occupational education is positively associated with transitioning to first marriage and with marrying a college-educated partner for women but not for men. This association does not vary by women’s own educational attainment and is not significant for entry into cohabitation. Our approach calls attention to an unexplored, indirect link between education and marriage that, we argue, helps explain why college-educated adults enjoy better marriage prospects.
Bibliography Citation
McClendon, David, Janet Kuo and Kelly Raley. "The Labor of Love: Occupational Education and the Transition to First Marriage." Presented: New Orleans LA, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 2013.
3. Raley, Kelly
McClendon, David
Steidl, Ellyn
Credits and Credentials: An In-Depth Analysis of the Association between Educational Attainment and the Risk of Divorce
Presented: San Diego CA, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April-May 2015
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): College Enrollment; Divorce; Educational Attainment; Marital Stability

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

This study uses detailed transcript and self-report data on postsecondary experiences from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 Cohort (NLYS97) to investigate the association between educational attainment and marital stability for men and women. Our preliminary results indicate that incremental educational progress is associated with greater marital stability for women, even when it does not result in a degree. This provides more support for a learning than a credentialism argument. Moreover, years enrolled is not associated with reduced risk of divorce, but credits earned is. This supports the idea that something about what is learned in the classroom might contribute to marital stability, either directly or indirectly through labor force outcomes or spousal characteristics. We conclude with a discussion of future plans.
Bibliography Citation
Raley, Kelly, David McClendon and Ellyn Steidl. "Credits and Credentials: An In-Depth Analysis of the Association between Educational Attainment and the Risk of Divorce." Presented: San Diego CA, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April-May 2015.
4. Steidl, Ellyn
Raley, Kelly
Marital Quality and Educational Differences in Divorce
Presented: Washington DC, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, March-April 2016
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Population Association of America
Keyword(s): College Graduates; Divorce; Marital Satisfaction/Quality; Marital Stability; Relationship Conflict

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

Over the past 30 years, the risk of divorce has increasingly diverged according to educational attainment. The purpose of this article is to understand why higher education is protective of marital stability. Two common theories--economic gains and non-cognitive skills--implicitly suggest that college graduates enjoy more stable marriages because of better marital quality. While the mechanism of marital quality is theoretically plausible, it has not been formally tested. Using the NLSY97 and Post-Secondary Transcript Study, we employ survival analysis to study whether closeness, conflict, and commitment explain educational differences in divorce. We find evidence that relationship characteristics do mediate some of the association between having a bachelor's degree and a lower divorce risk. Findings also suggest that certain relationship characteristics may be more important than others for marital stability. Our results support the idea that closeness has a stronger influence than either conflict or commitment in reducing the risk of divorce.
Bibliography Citation
Steidl, Ellyn and Kelly Raley. "Marital Quality and Educational Differences in Divorce." Presented: Washington DC, Population Association of America Annual Meeting, March-April 2016.