Do marital status and computer usage really change the wage structure?

Abstract

This analysis uses several identification strategies and data sources to control for individual ability and determine the causal effect of marital status and computer usage on wages. Although data from the CPS, NLSY and a data set of identical twins show that there are large cross-sectional effects of these variables, new econometric specifications are applied to these data which indicate that marital status and computer usage are not important causal determinants of earnings, even after adjustments are made for measurement error and within-twin differences in ability. © 2004 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System.