Fewer Husbands More Educated Than Spouse

choi

USA Today, Mar 7, 2014, at 1A.

"USA Snapshot

Fewer Husbands More Educated Than Spouse

Share of married couples where the husband is 'more educated' has fallen:

[bar charts:]
.............Husband .......Wife
1970 .....17%...............8%
1990 .....22% .............15%
2010 .....20% .............20%
2012 .....20% .............21%

Source  Pew Research Center analysis of Census data

ANNE R CAREY AND PAUL TRAP, USA TODAY"

Note:
(a) In 1970 for example, among married couples, 17% where husband was more educated and 8% where wife was.
(b) The bar chart is based on Pew findings. See the next posting.
-----------------------------------------
Wendy Wang, Record Share of Wives Are More Educated Than Their Husbands. Pew Research Center, Feb 12, 2014
www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/20 ... han-their-husbands/
(two findings as visualized in two figures (both 1960-2012) whose respective heading is: "More Women Marrying 'Down'" and "Share of Marriages Between Less Educated Declines")

Quote:

(a) regarding Figure 1: "The trend toward wives being more educated than their husbands is even more prevalent among newlyweds * * * Among college educated newlyweds (including those with postgraduate and advanced degrees), nearly four-in-ten women (39%) married a spouse without a college degree, but only 26% of men did so.

(b) regarding Figure 2:

"Another important trend has to do with marriages between spouses with similar education levels. Even though college graduates are increasingly more likely to marry each other, the overall share of couples of similar education levels is down from nearly 80% in 1960 to about 60% in 2012.

"The primary reason for the decline in the share of married couples with similar education levels is that marriages between spouses with high school or less than high school education are much less common these days — the share is down from 74% of all marriages in 1960 to 24% in 2012. In addition, adults with high school or less education are much less likely to marry. The marriage rate among this group plummeted —from 72% in 1960 to 46% in 2012.

(c) "Does marrying someone with less education mean 'marrying down' economically? Not necessarily. When we look at the newlywed women who married someone with less education, we find that a majority of these women actually 'married up.' In 2012, only 39% of newlywed women who married a spouse with less education out-earned their husband, and a majority of them (58%) made less than their husband.

My comment:
(a) Pay attention to "In addition" in paragraph 2 of quotation (b), which means the unmarried (either never married or divorced) are not included in Figure 2. Figure 2 ("Share of Marriages Between Less Educated Declines[:] % of currently married couples") alone suggests marriage between persons (or husband and wife) of disparate education level must INCREASE, to account for the balance ("the share [of married couples with similar education levels] is down from 74% of all marriages in 1960 to 24% in 2012").
(b) Quotation (c) does not jibe with the findings of another research, excerpted in the Economist and Bloomberg BusinessWeek. I will re-read that other research to pin down the difference, if any.