A Longitudinal Study on Marriage and Subjective Well-Being: Selection and Continuation of the Marriage Effect.

This paper examines the positive relationship between marriage and subjective well-being (SWB) in Korea, focusing on the selection effect and the hypothesis of the set-point theory. Longitudinal data from the Korean Labor and Income Panel Study conducted from 1998 to 2008 are used for analyses. The results indicate that the selection effect is substantially significant in general but varies depending on the age of group members. Specifically, under age 25, no selection effect is revealed, and above age 30, the selection effect is explained away by the effect of income difference. The hypothesis of the set-point theory is not supported. The increase of life satisfaction caused by marriage does not disappear in the first 2 years after marriage and keeps persistent at least for 6 years or more. In view of these results, the positive relationship between marriage and SWB in Korea is explained by both of the selection effect and the causal effect of marriage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]