門當戶對的婚姻拉大了社會收入差距
在華盛頓，收入失衡是個熱點話題。總統奧巴馬(Barack Obama)預計將在周二的國情咨文(State of the Union)演講中強調失衡現象以及經濟流動性。
One factor he likely won't discuss: Income inequality has gotten worse in past decades in part because college-educated, high-earning men and women are more likely to marry each other, rather than get hitched to partners with divergent education or wage levels.
他可能不會提及的一大要點是，過去數十年來收入越發失衡的原因之一在于，受過高等教育、薪資不菲的男女結為夫婦的可能性更高，教育背景、薪資水平差距很大的兩人則不太可能走到一起。
A research paper -- by University of Pennsylvania economist Jeremy Greenwood; Nezih Guner, a research professor at Markets, Organizations and Votes in Economics (MOVE), a research institute based in Barcelona; University of Konstanz economist Georgi Kocharkov; and University of Mannheim economist Cezar Santos -- tracks trends from 1960 to 2005.
賓夕法尼亞州立大學(University of Pennsylvania)經濟學家Jeremy Greenwood、巴塞羅那研究機構Markets, Organizations and Votes in Economics (MOVE)研究教授Nezih Guner、德國康斯坦茨大學(University of Konstanz)經濟學家Georgi Kocharkov以及曼海姆大學(University of Mannheim)經濟學家Cezar Santos聯合進行了一項研究，追蹤1960年至2005年間人們的擇偶趨勢。
The paper, 'Marry Your Like: Assortative Mating and Income Inequality, ' finds that the rise of women in the workforce and a growing tendency to find a partner from a similar educational and professional background is exacerbating income trends.
這篇名為"Marry Your Like: Assortative Mating and Income Inequality"(《人以群分：選擇性擇偶與收入失衡》)的研究報告指出，隨著越來越多的女性加入勞動力大軍，人們更傾向于選擇一個教育、專業背景與己接近的配偶，這加劇了收入差距的懸殊。
The upshot: The rich are getting richer. In 1960, a household in the top 10% earned about three-and-a-half times the mean U.S. income. In 2005, that had jumped to more than four times the mean.
關鍵在于，有錢的人越來越有錢。1960年，最富有的10%家庭的收入大約是平均值的3.5倍;2005年，這一比例擴大至4倍多。
For the bottom 10%, the situation has deteriorated. In 1960, such a household earned 16% of mean income. By 2005, that was down to 8%.
而對于最貧困的那10%而言，情況變得更加糟糕。1960年，這類家庭的收入等于平均值的0.16倍;到了2005年，其收入與平均值之比降到了8%。
'Incomes are more polarized in 2005, ' the paper says. 'The change in wages across individuals is the primary driver of this increase in income inequality.'
研究報告指出，2005年收入更趨兩極化，個人工資的變動是收入差距擴大的主要推手。
The authors don't offer a solution. They do note that if marriages followed the same patterns as in 1960 there would be a significant reduction in income inequality.
研究者沒有給出一種解決方案。但他們指出，如果人們的擇偶模式回到1960年，那么收入差距將被極大縮窄。
'So, if people matched in 2005 according to the standardized mating pattern observed in 1960, which showed less positive assortative matching, then income inequality would drop because income is more diversified across husband and wife, ' the paper says.
報告稱，假若2005年的人們也像1960年那樣根據某一標準化的擇偶模式來結合、而不是今天這種“門當戶對”的精挑細選型婚配，那么收入失衡現象將減輕，因為夫妻倆的收入將更加多元。
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