Policy Watch: The Marriage Penalty
讨论婚姻惩罚，即政府项目对婚姻的隐性惩罚或补贴，重点关注税收和转移支付项目，分析其存在原因、影响人群、对婚姻和劳动力市场行为的影响以及减少该惩罚的权衡。
Many government programs have implicit penalties or subsidies for marriage. For example, many couples pay higher income taxes when married than their combined tax liabilities as single filers, while many other couples receive a marriage subsidy because their joint taxes fall with marriage. Likewise, most low-income couples are eligible for higher welfare benefits if they are separated rather than married. This article discusses the marriage penalty, with a particular focus on tax and transfer programs. Why does it exist? Who faces it? To what extent does it affect marriage and labor market behavior? What tradeoffs are involved in reducing it?