Does a woman's education affect her husband's earnings? Results for Israel in a dual labor market

A recent focus on decision-making within the household has opened a new field of research into the economic of marriage and the family. Recent research indicates that in the United States, at least, a wife's education has a positive effect on a husband's earning capacity - a focused instance of the economic benefits of association. Even if education did not get women jobs or improve their ability to function as housewives and mothers, it is not wasted. In Israel, however, the authors found that the wife's educational level increased a husband's earnings in the primary sector (in which workers have good jobs, with good pay, security, and fringe benefits) but not in the secondary sector (in which workers have low paying, unstable, generally unattractive jobs). These new findings are consistent with the general implications of the dual labor market model.