Joint Pot or Separate Purse? Unpacking the Cohabitation-Marriage Gap in Income Pooling across Europe

Flavia Mazzeo , Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Nicole Hiekel, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Agnese Vitali, University of Trento

Previous research shows that cohabitants are more likely to keep their economic resources separate compared to married couples, albeit with country differences. The two main theories explaining this differing attitude are the selection and the commitment mechanisms. The former states that the same set of individual and couple characteristics predict both types of union and income pooling strategies, implying a spurious association. The latter affirms that the cohabitation-marriage gap is due to intrinsic differences between these types of unions, which entail different levels of commitment and joint investments. However, neither of the theories have ever been systematically tested. Moreover, not only does the size of this ‘cohabitation-marriage gap’ vary comparatively, but these two groups could mask within heterogeneity due to the diversified trajectory of marital unions and the different meanings attached to cohabitation. Distinguishing between premarital cohabitation among spouses and marital intentions among cohabitants, we investigate the relationship between type of union and money management. Using GGS data for 12 countries, we apply KHB analysis to inspect the role of selection and commitment in mediating the relationship. Results show that the four union types differ from each other in their association with income pooling in the majority of the countries considered, and unveil the changing predictive power of the selection and commitment mechanisms across countries.

See extended abstract

 Presented in Session 88. Money and Inequalities in Families