Money, work, and wealth in partnerships

Nicole Kapelle

Chapter Chapter 20 in Research Handbook on Partnering across the Life Course, 2025, pp 241-253 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Women’s economic standing has increased drastically over recent decades, leading to rising gender equality in the public sphere. Despite these developments, economic inequalities between partners within the same household have been shown to be remarkably persistent. Such intra-couple inequalities are critical because they likely hinder overall advances in gender equality efforts. The current chapter synthesises the literature on intra-couple economic inequalities focusing on the magnitude, causes, and consequences of such inequalities in different-sex couples within Western societies. Specifically, it is also discussed why such inequalities are often overlooked. To this end, Gary Becker’s New Household Economic Theory and social norms around jointness in partnerships are discussed. Starting in the 1970s and 1980s, a large body of research around resource-bargaining perspectives and gender theories heavily criticised and contested misconceptions from Becker’s theory. To understand the relevance of intra-couple inequalities, the chapter discusses concepts of power, control, and access to resources. Additionally, it is pertinent to highlight variations in the level of resource pooling across couples and what advantages or disadvantages pooling or keeping resources separately may have for partners. After exploring the relevance of intra-couple inequalities, the chapter discusses their contextual causes, focusing mainly on the gender pay gap, a traditional division of domestic labour and care work, and mating preferences. Finally, methodological challenges for intra-couple research are discussed, and possible ways forward are highlighted.

Keywords: Gender; Economic inequality; Couples; Money; Intra-household allocation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781803923376
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