Wives' income and marital quality: Are there reciprocal effects?

The nature and direction of the relationship between wives' income and marital quality are investigated in this research. Competing hypotheses are tested using panel data for a nationally representative sample of 771 married women and men (not couples) and structural equation modeling. The results indicate that increases in wives' income do not significantly affect either husbands' or wives' perceptions of marital discord. Instead, increases in marital discord contribute significantly to increases in wives' income. Further, increases in marital discord contribute to increases in wives' income by increasing the likelihood that nonemployed wives will enter the labor force.