Economic Standard Living Gap in Dual-Breadwinner and Overworking Single-Breadwinner Families, 1960 to 2018-2022

• In Event: Family Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 9: Family Structure and Change

Abstract

Has the rise of the overwork premium reshaped the economic viability of gendered divisions of paid work within marriage? As wage returns to overwork have increased particularly in professional and managerial occupations, overworking single-breadwinner families may have become economically competitive with dual-breadwinner households in which neither partner overworks. Using decennial Census and American Community Survey data from the Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS), from 1960 to 2018--2022, this study examines how family economic standard of living vary by breadwinner arrangement and overwork status across the income distribution. Results demonstrate that overworking male- and female-breadwinner families experienced substantial relative gains at the top of the income distribution. Decomposition analyses indicate that these gains are driven primarily by accelerated earnings growth among overworking single-breadwinners rather than earnings stagnation among dual-earners. Although dual-breadwinner families with overworking breadwinners remain the most advantaged group, the gap between them and overworking single-breadwinner families narrowed substantially by 2018--2022. These findings suggest that economic returns to overwork can reshape family-level economic incentives in ways that may reinforce gendered divisions of paid work, particularly among affluent families.

Author

• Andrew Taeho Kim, University of Tennessee-Knoxville