Abstract
In 1968, the typical married couple had annual earnings of $25 633 (in constant 1988 dollars)2 from a husband who averaged 47.7 weeks or work, and $4913 from a wife who worked 21.0 weeks. By 1988, the typical husband earned somewhat more, $28 350 per year, while working somewhat less, 45.5 weeks. The typical wife worked substantially more, 32.1 weeks, and earned substantially more, $10 369. For the typical couple, real earnings increased by $8173 per year, of which about two-thirds was attributable to the increased earnings of wives. The typical wife increased her weeks worked by more than half and earned about one-third more per week.3
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© 1993 Dimitri B. Papadimitriou and Edward N. Wolff
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Cancian, M., Danziger, S., Gottschalk, P. (1993). The Changing Contributions of Men and Women to the Level and Distribution of Family Income, 1968–88. In: Papadimitriou, D.B., Wolff, E.N. (eds) Poverty and Prosperity in the USA in the Late Twentieth Century. Jerome Levy Economics Institute. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-22953-6_9
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