Does Marriage Make People Happy,Or Do Happy People Get Married?

This paper analyzes the causal relationships between marriage and subjective well-beingin a longitudinal data set spanning 17 years. We find evidence that happier singles opt more likelyfor marriage and that there are large differences in the benefits from marriage between couples.Potential, as well as actual, division of labor seems to contribute to spouses’ well-being,especially for women and when there is a young family to raise. In contrast, large differences inthe partners’ educational level have a negative effect on experienced life satisfaction.