Income Dynamics in Relationships: Insights Revealed by a Recent Study on Couples and Their Finances
The study titled "His and hers earnings trajectories", directed by Allison Dunatchik, assistant professor of sociology at the University of South Carolina, sheds new light on the economic situations of couples born around 1960. The research, published in Research in Social Stratification and Mobility on November 22, 2024, focuses on the long-term income inequality within and between different-sex couples by examining how marital patterns influence income distribution over time.
The study analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth of 1979, which includes information on couples born between 1957 and 1964. A total of 5,354 heterosexual couples were analyzed for no less than 30 years.
The study found that approximately 60% of the analyzed marriages followed a pattern of egalitarian finances, where both partners had stable and equal earnings. The first pattern, called the Dual-earner partner, constituted approximately 50% of the total. In this case, the husband and wife had similar earnings, with neither being the economically predominant figure.
In 55% of the cases studied, wives had stable earnings throughout their marriage. However, in 23% of the cases, men had unstable earnings, and in 5% of the cases, the woman was the economically predominant figure.
The third pattern consisted of a Alternating earner pattern, where the husband and wife exchanged the position of the member with the most profits. In other words, in some periods, the one who earned the most was the husband, while in others, it was the wife. In this case, the incidence was approximately 5%.
The second pattern, represented by approximately 6% of the couples analyzed, reported the model of Jointly mobile patterns, according to which both members of the couple experienced the same or similar fluctuations in their income over time, caused by more or less the same economic and social factors.
Allison Dunatchik was surprised by the large percentage of wives who had stable and high incomes. She also noted that the second pattern, where the woman was the main breadwinner, coincides with couple models in which the wife, before getting married, had a high educational and economic level.
The study also highlights that more economic studies from a gender perspective are needed to clarify certain points related to gender diversity. Women had a great role in the domestic economy, according to the study, and the findings suggest that income gaps cause imbalanced decision-making and relationship tension.
As the study focuses on couples born around 1960, new research should be carried out on the so-called Generations Millennial and Z to understand how their income trajectories evolve over time. The findings from this study provide valuable insights into the long-term income inequality within households and reflect broader socioeconomic trends in assortative mating, education, and gendered labor participation.
Key Points on Long-term Income Inequality and Marital Income Patterns in Different-Sex Couples:
- Income Disparities Affect Relationship Dynamics: Significant earnings differences between partners can lead to imbalances in decision-making power, financial dependency, and relationship stress. Couples with large income gaps often face differing expectations about lifestyle and financial security, impacting relationship satisfaction over time.
- Wealth Accumulation: Couples who pool finances or use a hybrid joint-and-separate financial management tend to grow their wealth more effectively over the long term. Joint finances encourage shared saving goals and long-term planning, benefiting overall household wealth accumulation.
- Assortative Mating Increases Household Income Inequality: Partners increasingly tend to select each other based on similar educational and socioeconomic backgrounds ("assortative mating"). This results in couples where both partners have either very high or very low earnings, exacerbating income inequality between couples and contributing to greater household income polarization over decades.
- Role of Education and Labor Force Participation: Rising returns to education and increased female labor force participation have both contributed to the widening gap in household income inequality among married couples. Couples with higher educational attainment see rising relative income, while less educated couples have experienced stagnant or declining relative income over time.
- Inequality of Opportunity and Life Course: Over time, circumstances such as family background have less impact on income inequality as people age, but inequality of outcomes (actual income differences) generally increase with age. Educational opportunities have improved across cohorts, potentially mitigating some inequality within couples' earnings trajectories.
Summary Table
| Aspect | Key Insight | |------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | Relationship power & stress | Income gaps cause imbalanced decision-making and relationship tension | | Wealth accumulation | Joint accounts and proportional contributions boost long-term household wealth | | Assortative mating | Spouses increasingly share education/income levels, increasing income inequality | | Education & female labor | Higher education and female earnings amplify household income inequality trends | | Life course inequality | Opportunity inequality shrinks with age, but income inequality grows |
The study on His and hers earnings trajectories reveals that approximately 60% of analyzed marriages show an egalitarian finance pattern, suggesting that financial equality may contribute to stronger relationships and shared decision-making. The findings also emphasize the need for more gender-focused economic studies to further illuminate the role of education, labor force participation, and assortative mating in shaping household income inequality and lifestyle choices. According to the research, women's increased educational and economic levels can lead to higher income as the main breadwinner, altering traditional power dynamics within relationships. The study's focus on couples born around 1960 offers valuable insights into long-term income inequality, but future research is needed to understand how income trajectories evolve for younger generations like Millennials and Z.
