The Dispatch Podcast

Worried About Inequality? Fix Marriage.

Oct 9, 2023

Economics professor Melissa Kearney discusses her book on the decline of marriage in America, its impact on inequality, and controversial policy matters. Topics include the relationship between marriage, education, and income inequality, trends in marriage and their impact on children, and the surprising findings of a study on localized fracking booms and birth rates.

40:47

Episode guests

Melissa Kearney

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

The decline in parents getting married has contributed to increased inequality and negatively impacted parents and children, particularly among adults without college degrees.

Marriage rates differ across social classes, with college-educated mothers more likely to be married, highlighting the connection between marriage and income inequality.

Deep dives

The Decline in Marriage and Rise in Single Parenthood

The podcast discusses the decline in marriage among parents and the corresponding increase in single parenthood. The speaker highlights that the decline in parents getting married is linked to a broader decline in marriage overall, especially among adults without college degrees. The share of children born to unmarried parents has increased significantly, with 40% of babies in the US now born to unmarried parents compared to 18% in 1980.

Introduction

3min

Marriage, Education, and Income Inequality

2min

Marriage Trends and Their Impact on Children

25min

Understanding the Decline in Marriage Rates and Its Impact

4min

The Impact of Localized Fracking Booms on Marriage and Birth Rates

5min

Melissa Kearney, a professor of economics at the University of Maryland joins Assistant Editor Luis Parrales to talk about her new book, The Two-Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind. The two discuss the decline in married households over the past decades, how that decline has exacerbated inequality and negatively impacted parents and children, and why it’s so controversial to talk about marriage as a policy matter in the first place.

Show notes:

-Melissa’s profile at the University of Maryland

-Melissa’s profile at Brookings

-A Driver of Inequality That Not Enough People Are Talking About

-Male Earnings, Marriageable Men, and Nonmarital Fertility: Evidence from the Fracking Boom

-The Puzzle of Falling US Birth Rates Since the Great Recession

-Race and Economic Opportunity in the United States: An Intergenerational Perspective

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