Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

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

  • Published:
Demography

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.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  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.

References

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Apps, P., & Rees, R. (2005). Gender, time use, and public policy over the life cycle. Oxford Review of Economic Policy, 21, 439–461.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker, G. S. (1981). A treatise on the family. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, F. (2013). Researching within-household distribution: Overview, developments, debates, and methodological challenges. Journal of Marriage and Family, 75, 582–597.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brines, J. (1994). Economic dependency, gender, and the division of labor at home. American Journal of Sociology, 100, 652–688.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chang, M. L. (2010). Shortchanged: Why women have less wealth and what can be done about it. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Charles, K. K., Hurst, E., & Killewald, A. (2013). Marital sorting and parental wealth. Demography, 50, 51–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dew, J., & Eggebeen, D. J. (2010). Beyond the wage premium: Fatherhood and asset accumulation. Research in Human Development, 7, 140–158.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dutta, A. (2012). Germany. In J. M. Scherpe (Ed.), Marital agreements and private autonomy in comparative perspective (pp. 158–199). Oxford, UK: Hart Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fasang, A. E., Aisenbrey, S., & Schömann, K. (2013). Women’s retirement income in Germany and Britain. European Sociological Review, 29, 968–980.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grabka, M. M., Marcus, J., & Sierminska, E. (2015). Wealth distribution within couples. Review of Economics of the Household, 13, 459–486.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grabka, M. M., & Westermeier, C. (2015). Editing and multiple imputation of item non-response in the wealth module of the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP Survey Papers Series C, No. 272). Berlin, Germany: SOEP. Retrieved from http://panel.gsoep.de/soep-docs/surveypapers/diw_ssp0272.pdf

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hao, L. (1996). Family structure, private transfers, and the economic well-being of families with children. Social Forces, 75, 269–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keister, L. A., & Moller, S. (2000). Wealth inequality in the United States. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 63–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenney, C. T. (2006). The power of the purse: Allocative systems and inequality in couple households. Gender & Society, 20, 354–381.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Killewald, A., & Gough, M. (2013). Does specialization explain marriage penalties and premiums? American Sociological Review, 78, 477–502.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lauer, S. R., & Yodanis, C. (2011). Individualized marriage and the integration of resources. Journal of Marriage and Family, 73, 669–683.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Light, A. (2004). Gender differences in the marriage and cohabitation income premium. Demography, 41, 263–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ruel, E., & Hauser, R. M. (2013). Explaining the gender wealth gap. Demography, 50, 1155–1176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schmidt, L., & Sevak, P. (2006). Gender, marriage, and asset accumulation in the United States. Feminist Economics, 12, 139–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, D. (2011). Wealth and the marital divide. American Journal of Sociology, 117, 627–667.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sierminska, E. M., Frick, J. R., & Grabka, M. M. (2010). Examining the gender wealth gap. Oxford Economic Papers, 62, 669–690.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spilerman, S. (2000). Wealth and stratification processes. Annual Review of Sociology, 26, 497–524.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Szydlik, M. (2004). Inheritance and inequality: Theoretical reasoning and empirical evidence. European Sociological Review, 20, 31–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torche, F., & Spilerman, S. (2009). Intergenerational influences of wealth in Mexico. Latin American Research Review, 44, 75–101.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vespa, J., & Painter, M. A. (2011). Cohabitation history, marriage, and wealth accumulation. Demography, 48, 983–1004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waite, L. J. (1995). Does marriage matter? Demography, 32, 483–507.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waldfogel, J. (1997). The effect of children on women’s wages. American Sociological Review, 62, 209–217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xie, Y., Raymo, J. M., Goyette, K., & Thornton, A. (2003). Economic potential and entry into marriage and cohabitation. Demography, 40, 351–367.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zagorsky, J. L. (2005). Marriage and divorce’s impact on wealth. Journal of Sociology, 41, 406–424.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

I thank Fenaba Addo, Barbara Fulda, Marita Jacob, and Yvonne Lott for helpful comments on earlier versions of the manuscript. All errors remain my own.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Philipp M. Lersch.

Electronic supplementary material

ESM 1

(DOCX 368 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Lersch, P.M. The Marriage Wealth Premium Revisited: Gender Disparities and Within-Individual Changes in Personal Wealth in Germany. Demography 54, 961–983 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-017-0572-4

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13524-017-0572-4

Keywords

Navigation