A striking change in American society in the last 40 years has been the decline and delay in marriage. The fraction of … volatility also rose. We establish a quantitatively important link between these facts. If marriage involves consumption … commitments, then a rise in income volatility delays marriage. We quantitatively assess this hypothesis vis‐à‐vis others in the …

range of micro statistics on income in- equality, dynamics, and mobility. It has four key characteristics: it is built on …