The Material Returns to Partnership: The Effects of Educational Matching on Labour Market Outcomes and Gender Equality

Partnership decisions are determined in part by mutual consideration of the economic value of prospective partners. Whereas in the past this worked through property or income, the basis for assessment now derives from an individual's effective stock of human capital. This gives an indication not only of the suitability of a prospective partner but also of that person's future labour market success. However, many aspects of this are invisible to the social researcher. Using the first nine waves of the British Household Panel Survey (1991-1999), we employ an estimation procedure in which we first identify these unobserved components of human capital, then test whether they affect labour market outcomes. We find that such unobserved dimensions of human capital significantly affect wages and occupational prestige scores. This has significant implications for the balance of gender equality within partnerships.