Skip to main content
Disciplines
Automotive Business IT + Informatics Construction + Real Estate Electrical Engineering + Electronics Energy + Sustainability Insurance + Risk Finance + Banking Management + Leadership Marketing + Sales Mechanical Engineering + Materials
Events
DE
EN
Books
Journals
Topic Page
Marketing
Start single access now
Access for companies
EXTENDED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Demography
Published in: Demography 3/2017

21-04-2017

The Marriage Wealth Premium Revisited: Gender Disparities and Within-Individual Changes in Personal Wealth in Germany

Author: Philipp M. Lersch

Published in: Demography | Issue 3/2017

Log in

Activate our intelligent search to find suitable subject content or patents.

search-config
loading …

Abstract

This study examines the association between marriage and economic wealth of women and men. Going beyond previous research that focused on household wealth, I examine personal wealth, which allows identifying gender disparities in the association between marriage and wealth. Using unique data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (2002, 2007, and 2012), I apply random-effects and fixed-effects regression models to test my expectations. I find that both women and men experience substantial marriage wealth premiums not only in household wealth but also in personal wealth. However, I do not find consistent evidence for gender disparities in these general marriage premiums. Additional analyses indicate, however, that women’s marriage premiums are substantially lower than men’s premiums in older cohorts and when only nonhousing wealth is considered. Overall, this study provides new evidence that women and men gain unequally in their wealth attainment through marriage.
previous article Job Displacement and First Birth Over the Business Cycle
next article Trends in Economic Homogamy: Changes in Assortative Mating or the Division of Labor in Marriage?

Dont have a licence yet? Then find out more about our products and how to get one now:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 102.000 Bücher
  • über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Automobil + Motoren
  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
  • Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
  • Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

  • über 67.000 Bücher
  • über 340 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

  • Bauwesen + Immobilien
  • Business IT + Informatik
  • Finance + Banking
  • Management + Führung
  • Marketing + Vertrieb
  • Versicherung + Risiko




Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

inform now
Appendix
Available only for authorised users
Footnotes
1
Schmidt and Sevak (2006) found evidence that the marriage wealth premium compared with single women may vanish among young couples (aged 25–39 in 2001) after controlling for observable differences, but it is unclear whether this is an age or a cohort effect.
 
2
Theoretically, marriage also provides an insurance function that may reduce saving, but there is no empirical evidence to support this expectation (Lupton and Smith 2003).
 
3
Cohabiting unions may mimic some of the legal characteristics of marriage through private contracts, but few cohabitants do so (Wilmoth and Koso 2002).
 
4
Intergenerational transfer receipt of individual spouses may potentially contribute to unequal personal wealth, but empirical findings show gender equality in inheritances in Germany (Szydlik 2004).
 
5
Respondents who live with their parents are excluded from the analysis so that changes in household wealth at the entry into marriage are not conflated with changes in household wealth after leaving the parental home (Killewald 2013).
 
6
My main conclusions are robust to using a natural log transformation instead of an IHS transformation (see Fig. S1 in Online Resource 1). However, the gender difference in the association between marriage and personal net wealth in the random-effects regression is not replicated when using a log transformation, which excludes negative net wealth and 0 values.
 
7
Because this variable is used only with the retrospective sample, younger cohorts are not included.
 
8
I also estimated alternative models in which I included control variables for the employment situation (see Fig. S2 in Online Resource 1). I do not report these models here because I assume that employment is one pathway by which marriage may influence wealth attainment. Key findings do not change when I control for employment. Only the gender difference in the marriage wealth premium identified in the retrospective sample vanishes after employment characteristics are included in the model because the coefficient for men is reduced in the extended model. This provides initial evidence that the marriage premium for men is partly due to their enhanced employment prospects during marriage.
 
9
The gender difference in the association between marriage and personal net wealth in the random-effects regression is specific to those aged 51 and older (see Fig. S2 in Online Resource 1).
 
10
In additional analyses using unconditional quantile regression, which I fully report in Online Resource 1 (Section S.4), I find that women in the bottom half of the wealth distribution gain less from marriage than men.
 
Literature
Addo, F. R., & Lichter, D. T. (2013). Marriage, marital history, and black: White wealth differentials among older women. Journal of Marriage and Family, 75, 342–362.CrossRef
Apps, P., & Rees, R. (2005). Gender, time use, and public policy over the life cycle. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 21, 439–461.CrossRef
Becker, G. S. (1981). A treatise on the family. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Bennett, F. (2013). Researching within-household distribution: Overview, developments, debates, and methodological challenges. Journal of Marriage and Family, 75, 582–597.CrossRef
Brines, J. (1994). Economic dependency, gender, and the division of labor at home. American Journal of Sociology, 100, 652–688.CrossRef
Burgoyne, C. B. (1990). Money in marriage: How patterns of allocation both reflect and conceal power. Sociological Review, 38, 634–665.
Burgoyne, C. B., Clarke, V., Reibstein, J., & Edmunds, A. (2006). “All my worldly goods I share with you”? Managing money at the transition to heterosexual marriage. Sociological Review, 54, 619–637.
Burgoyne, C. B., Reibstein, J., Edmunds, A., & Dolman, V. (2007). Money management systems in early marriage: Factors influencing change and stability. Journal of Economic Psychology, 28, 214–228.CrossRef
Chang, M. L. (2010). Shortchanged: Why women have less wealth and what can be done about it. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.CrossRef
Charles, K. K., Hurst, E., & Killewald, A. (2013). Marital sorting and parental wealth. Demography, 50, 51–70.CrossRef
Cheng, S. (2016). The accumulation of (dis)advantage: The intersection of gender and race in the long-term wage effect of marriage. American Sociological Review, 81, 29–56.CrossRef
Deere, C. D., & Doss, C. R. (2006). The gender asset gap: What do we know and why does it matter? Feminist Economics, 12, 1–50.CrossRef
Denton, M., & Boos, L. (2007). The gender wealth gap: Structural and material constraints and implications for later life. Journal of Women & Aging, 19, 105–120.CrossRef
Dew, J., & Eggebeen, D. J. (2010). Beyond the wage premium: Fatherhood and asset accumulation. Research in Human Development, 7, 140–158.CrossRef
Dutta, A. (2012). Germany. In J. M. Scherpe (Ed.), Marital agreements and private autonomy in comparative perspective (pp. 158–199). Oxford, UK: Hart Publishing.
Fasang, A. E., Aisenbrey, S., & Schömann, K. (2013). Women’s retirement income in Germany and Britain. European Sociological Review, 29, 968–980.CrossRef
Fremeaux, N., & Leturcq, M. (2013). Plus ou moins mariés: L’évolution du mariage et des régimes matrimoniaux en France [More or less married: The changes in marriage and marital regimes in France]. Économie et Statistique, 2013(462–463), 125–151.CrossRef
Grabka, M. M., Marcus, J., & Sierminska, E. (2015). Wealth distribution within couples. Review of Economics of the Household, 13, 459–486.CrossRef
Halpern-Manners, A., Warren, J. R., Raymo, J. M., & Nicholson, D. A. (2015). The impact of work and family life histories on economic well-being at older ages. Social Forces, 93, 1369–1396.CrossRef
Hao, L. (1996). Family structure, private transfers, and the economic well-being of families with children. Social Forces, 75, 269–292.CrossRef
Holden, K. C., & Kuo, H.-H. D. (1996). Complex marital histories and economic well-being: The continuing legacy of divorce and widowhood as the HRS cohort approaches retirement. Gerontologist, 36, 383–390.CrossRef
Joseph, R., & Rowlingson, K. (2012). Her house, his pension? The division of assets among (ex-) couples and the role of policy. Social Policy and Society, 11, 69–80.CrossRef
Kan, M. Y., & Laurie, H. (2014). Changing patterns in the allocation of savings, investments and debts within couple relationships. Sociological Review, 62, 335–358.
Keister, L. A. (2003). Sharing the wealth: The effect of siblings on adults’ wealth ownership. Demography, 40, 521–542.
Keister, L. A., & Moller, S. (2000). Wealth inequality in the United States. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 63–81.CrossRef
Kenney, C. T. (2006). The power of the purse: Allocative systems and inequality in couple households. Gender & Society, 20, 354–381.CrossRef
Killewald, A. (2013). Return to being black, living in the red: A race gap in wealth that goes beyond social origins. Demography, 50, 1177–1195.CrossRef
Killewald, A., & Gough, M. (2013). Does specialization explain marriage penalties and premiums? American Sociological Review, 78, 477–502.CrossRef
Knoll, M. A. Z., Tamborini, C. R., & Whitman, K. (2012). I do . . . want to save: Marriage and retirement savings in young households. Journal of Marriage and Family, 74, 86–100.
Land, K. C., & Russell, S. T. (1996). Wealth accumulation across the adult life course: Stability and change in sociodemographic covariate structures of net worth data in the Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1984–1991. Social Science Research, 25, 423–462.CrossRef
Lauer, S. R., & Yodanis, C. (2011). Individualized marriage and the integration of resources. Journal of Marriage and Family, 73, 669–683.CrossRef
Lersch, P. M., & Vidal, S. (2014). Falling out of love and down the housing ladder: A longitudinal analysis of marital separation and home ownership. European Sociological Review, 30, 512–524.CrossRef
Light, A. (2004). Gender differences in the marriage and cohabitation income premium. Demography, 41, 263–284.CrossRef
Lundberg, S. J., Pollak, R. A., & Wales, T. J. (1997). Do husbands and wives pool their resources? Evidence from the United Kingdom Child Benefit. Journal of Human Resources, 32 , 463–480.
Lupton, J. P., & Smith, J. P. (2003). Marriage, assets, and savings. In S. A. Grossbard-Shechtman (Ed.), Marriage and the economy. Theory and evidence from advanced industrial societies (pp. 129–152). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
Oduro, A. D., Deere, C. D., & Catanzarite, Z. B. (2015). Women’s wealth and intimate partner violence: Insights from Ecuador and Ghana. Feminist Economics, 21(2), 1–29.
Painter, M., Frech, A., & Williams, K. (2015). Nonmarital fertility, union history, and women’s wealth. Demography, 52, 153–182.CrossRef
Painter, M., & Vespa, J. (2012). The role of cohabitation in asset and debt accumulation during marriage. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 33, 491–506.CrossRef
Pence, K. M. (2006). The role of wealth transformations: An application to estimating the effect of tax incentives on saving. B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 5, 1–24. doi:10.​1515/​1538-0645.​1430
Pfeffer, F. T. (2011). Status attainment and wealth in the United States and Germany. In T. M. Smeeding, R. Erikson, & M. Jäntti (Eds.), Persistence, privilege, and parenting: The comparative study of intergenerational mobility (pp. 109–137). New York, NY: Russell Sage Foundation.
Rubin, D. B. (1987). Multiple imputation for nonresponse in surveys. New York, NY: Wiley.CrossRef
Ruel, E., & Hauser, R. M. (2013). Explaining the gender wealth gap. Demography, 50, 1155–1176.CrossRef
Schmidt, L., & Sevak, P. (2006). Gender, marriage, and asset accumulation in the United States. Feminist Economics, 12, 139–166.CrossRef
Schneider, D. (2011). Wealth and the marital divide. American Journal of Sociology, 117, 627–667.CrossRef
Semyonov, M., Lewin-Epstein, N., & Maskileyson, D. (2013). Where wealth matters more for health: The wealth-health gradient in 16 countries. Social Science & Medicine, 81, 10–17.CrossRef
Sierminska, E. M., Frick, J. R., & Grabka, M. M. (2010). Examining the gender wealth gap. Oxford Economic Papers, 62, 669–690.CrossRef
Silverstein, M., & Bengtson, V. L. (1997). Intergenerational solidarity and the structure of adult child-parent relationships in American families. American Journal of Sociology, 103, 429–460.CrossRef
Spilerman, S. (2000). Wealth and stratification processes. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 497–524.CrossRef
Szydlik, M. (2004). Inheritance and inequality: Theoretical reasoning and empirical evidence. European Sociological Review, 20, 31–45.CrossRef
Torche, F., & Spilerman, S. (2009). Intergenerational influences of wealth in Mexico. Latin American Research Review, 44, 75–101.CrossRef
Ulker, A. (2009). Wealth holdings and portfolio allocation of the elderly: The role of marital history. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 30, 90–108.CrossRef
Vespa, J., & Painter, M. A. (2011). Cohabitation history, marriage, and wealth accumulation. Demography, 48, 983–1004.CrossRef
Vogler, C., Brockmann, M., & Wiggins, R. D. (2006). Intimate relationships and changing patterns of money management at the beginning of the twenty-first century. British Journal of Sociology, 57, 455–482.CrossRef
Vogler, C., & Pahl, J. (1994). Money, power and inequality within marriage. Sociological Review, 42, 263–288.
Wagner, G. G., Frick, J. R., & Schupp, J. (2007). The German Socio-Economic Panel Study (SOEP): Scope, evolution and enhancements. Schmollers Jahrbuch, 127, 139–170.
Waldfogel, J. (1997). The effect of children on women’s wages. American Sociological Review, 62, 209–217.CrossRef
Wilmoth, J., & Koso, G. (2002). Does marital history matter? Marital status and wealth outcomes among preretirement adults. Journal of Marriage and Family, 64, 254–268.CrossRef
Xie, Y., Raymo, J. M., Goyette, K., & Thornton, A. (2003). Economic potential and entry into marriage and cohabitation. Demography, 40, 351–367.CrossRef
Yamokoski, A., & Keister, L. A. (2006). The wealth of single women: marital status and parenthood in the asset accumulation of young baby boomers in the United States. Feminist Economics, 12, 167–194.CrossRef
Zagorsky, J. L. (2005). Marriage and divorce’s impact on wealth. Journal of Sociology, 41, 406–424.CrossRef
Metadata
Title
The Marriage Wealth Premium Revisited: Gender Disparities and Within-Individual Changes in Personal Wealth in Germany
Author
Philipp M. Lersch
Publication date
21-04-2017
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Demography / Issue 3/2017
Print ISSN: 0070-3370
Electronic ISSN: 1533-7790
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-017-0572-4

Other articles of this Issue 3/2017

Demography 3/2017 Go to the issue

OriginalPaper

Reply to Trends in Education-Specific Life Expectancy, Data Quality, and Shifting Education Distributions: A Note on Recent Research

OriginalPaper

A Quiescent Phase in Human Mortality? Exploring the Ages of Least Vulnerability

OriginalPaper

Back to School: Racial and Gender Differences in Adults’ Participation in Formal Schooling, 1978–2013

OriginalPaper

Parenting in On/Off Relationships: The Link Between Relationship Churning and Father Involvement

OriginalPaper

New Evidence Against a Causal Marriage Wage Premium

OriginalPaper

Non-Heterosexuality, Relationships, and Young Women’s Contraceptive Behavior