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Objective: This study examines fairness perceptions of experimentally manipulated savings arrangements in couples (i.e., distribution of control and ownership of savings) to identify distributive justice principles in marriage. Background: Theoretically, competing norms about individual ownership rights and autonomy (equity principle) and marital sharing (equality principle) in interaction with gender ideology (entitlement principle) may explain how individuals perceive the fairness of different savings arrangements, but these explanations have not been tested against each other yet. Method: In a nationally representative factorial survey experiment, implemented in the German GESIS Panel, 3,948 respondents evaluated the fairness of randomly presented savings arrangements (N = 19,648 evaluations). Results: Respondents rated equal control as more important than equal ownership to establish fairness in marriage. The ownership of savings does not seem to be directly linked to control, providing evidence against the equity principle. Inequality in ownership is rated fairer if it is in favor of the husband, whereas inequality in control is rated fairer if it is in favor of the wife. This suggests that gender is an ascriptive characteristic according to which resources should be allocated (entitlement principle). Conclusion: The results indicate that the ideal of marital sharing is widespread, but is rather accomplished by equal control than by equal ownership. Individuals' fairness perceptions of inequality in marriage are gendered, that is, depend on whom inequality favors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positive economic outcomes of marriage are often explained with a higher future orientation of married individuals who are assumed to plan their finances for a longer period than the nonmarried. Using data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Survey (2001–2014; N = 4,819 individuals), the authors provide the first longitudinal test of whether individuals change their financial planning horizons when they change their partnership status using fixed and random effects regressions. Results show that the financial planning horizon increases as individuals enter cohabitation. No further changes in financial planning horizons are found when they transition into marriage. Changes in horizons are similar for women and men. These results indicate that longer financial planning horizons and marriage are likely outcomes of couples' long‐term commitment, which develops during cohabitation. The symbolic and legal institution of marriage is not additionally associated with individual financial planning as a dimension of future orientation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic wealth is mostly assumed to be a household-level resource that is pooled by spouses in married couples. Using comprehensive data on the individual wealth of both spouses in married couples from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study ( N = 13,623 individuals), the author tests this assumption. To this end, the associations between individuals' wealth and their spouses' wealth with individuals' subjective financial well-being are examined. Results show that women's financial well-being is equally associated with their own individual wealth and their spouses' wealth in older birth cohorts. In younger birth cohorts, women's financial well-being is more strongly associated with their own individual wealth than with their spouses' wealth. For men from all birth cohorts, their own individual wealth is more strongly related to their financial well-being than is their spouses' wealth. These findings suggest that wealth is not generally and fully pooled and that individual ownership matters within married couples in Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]