[ Abstract / Highlights ]
Empirical research has shown that marriage and parenthood have positive effects on men’s wages but adverse effects on the wages of women. This is particularly true in Japan. This paper examined the impact of marriage and parenthood on the gender wage gap within-couple. Panel survey data on detailed demographic and economic information are used in the estimation, with a focus on wage changes from marriage and parenthood over time. To analyze the different dimensions of “wage,” annual labor income and wage rate are used as the wage index in the estimation. The estimation results show that, when taking husband’s wage as a comparative subject, women’s wage is negatively affected by marriage and parenthood, which reflects an increase in the wage gap within-couple over time. The magnitude of parenthood effects on the wage gap within-couple depends on the changes in employment status before and after childbirth.