Money and values in couples: a cross-welfare system comparison of gender values

Abstract

Purpose

Money management practices among couples from 27 countries were studied to understand how they reflect egalitarian values. The welfare system was used as a classification criterion, to account for the distinct socio-political contexts in which couple relationships are formed.

Design/methodology/approach

The data are sourced from the 2012 Survey on Family and Changing Gender Roles of the International Social Survey Programme. The analytical strategy used has been binary logistic regression.

Findings

The results demonstrate that participation of the woman in the household economy and financial decision-making indicates higher levels of egalitarian values in the couple. Couples who distinguish between a common fund and individual funds demonstrate more egalitarian values than those who have only a common fund. Besides, symmetry in the couple in terms of the income level of each partner increased the probability of having more egalitarian values. Greater equality was found among couples who resided in countries with a Mediterranean welfare system.

Originality/value

The paper makes an original contribution to the field of sociology and social policy by focus on couples' money management and improve understanding of the finance-well-being nexus.