正是门当户对的婚姻拉大了社会收入差距

Income inequality is a hot topic in Washington. President Barack Obama is expected to highlight inequality and economic mobility in his State of the Union address Tuesday.

在华盛顿，收入失衡是个热点话题。总统奥巴马(Barack Obama)预计将在周二的国情咨文(State of the Union)演讲中强调失衡现象以及经济流动性。

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.

他可能不会提及的一大要点是，过去数十年来收入越发失衡的原因之一在于，受过高等教育、薪资不菲的男女结为夫妇的可能性更高，教育背景、薪资水平差距很大的两人则不太可能走到一起。

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.

宾夕法尼亚州立大学(University of Pennsylvania)经济学家Jeremy Greenwood、巴塞罗那研究机构Markets, Organizations and Votes in Economics (MOVE)研究教授Nezih Guner、德国康斯坦茨大学(University of Konstanz)经济学家Georgi Kocharkov以及曼海姆大学(University of Mannheim)经济学家Cezar Santos联合进行了一项研究，追踪1960年至2005年间人们的择偶趋势。

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.

这篇名为"Marry Your Like: Assortative Mating and Income Inequality"（《人以群分：选择性择偶与收入失衡》）的研究报告指出，随着越来越多的女性加入劳动力大军，人们更倾向于选择一个教育、专业背景与己接近的配偶，这加剧了收入差距的悬殊。

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.

关键在于，有钱的人越来越有钱。1960年，最富有的10%家庭的收入大约是平均值的3.5倍；2005年，这一比例扩大至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%.

而对于最贫困的那10%而言，情况变得更加糟糕。1960年，这类家庭的收入等于平均值的0.16倍；到了2005年，其收入与平均值之比降到了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.'

研究报告指出，2005年收入更趋两极化，个人工资的变动是收入差距扩大的主要推手。

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.

研究者没有给出一种解决方案。但他们指出，如果人们的择偶模式回到1960年，那么收入差距将被极大缩窄。

'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.

报告称，假若2005年的人们也像1960年那样根据某一标准化的择偶模式来结合、而不是今天这种“门当户对”的精挑细选型婚配，那么收入失衡现象将减轻，因为夫妻俩的收入将更加多元。