IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/anname/v702y2022i1p188-204.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Wealth (Disadvantage) of Single-Parent Households

Author

Listed:
  • Salvatore Morelli
  • Brian Nolan
  • Juan C. Palomino
  • Philippe Van Kerm

Abstract

Wealth is a buffer against economic shocks and the intergenerational transmission of disadvantage. We investigate the wealth of single-parent households in six high-income countries that span a variety of institutional contexts and welfare regimes. Using household survey data, we show that single-parent households in all these countries are disadvantaged in the wealth they hold, compared to dual-parent households—more so in Great Britain, France, Germany, and the United States; and less so in Italy and, especially, Spain. We tease out major differences in types of wealth holdings in single- and dual-parent households. We find that the single-parent wealth deficit is not explained by differences in age or number of children but that it is influenced by education, income, homeownership, and receipt of intergenerational transfers. We discuss the policy implications of our findings, both in terms of how single parents are treated in social protection and taxation systems and, more broadly, in the supports they require if they are to overcome barriers to accumulating wealth.

Suggested Citation

  • Salvatore Morelli & Brian Nolan & Juan C. Palomino & Philippe Van Kerm, 2022. "The Wealth (Disadvantage) of Single-Parent Households," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 702(1), pages 188-204, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:702:y:2022:i:1:p:188-204
    DOI: 10.1177/00027162221123448
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00027162221123448
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/00027162221123448?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kuypers, Sarah & Marx, Ive, 2021. "Poverty in the EU Using Augmented Measures of Financial Resources: The Role of Assets and Debt," SocArXiv 6e5b4, Center for Open Science.
    2. Markus Jantti & Eva Sierminska & Tim Smeeding, 2008. "The Joint Distribution of Household Income and Wealth: Evidence from the Luxembourg Wealth Study," OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 65, OECD Publishing.
    3. Eurosystem Household Finance and Consumption Network, 2013. "The Eurosystem Household Finance and Consumption Survey - Methodological report," Statistics Paper Series 1, European Central Bank.
    4. Janet Gornick & Eva Sierminska, 2021. "Wealth Accumulation and Retirement Preparedness in Cross-National Perspective: A Gendered Analysis of Outcomes among Single Adults," LWS Working papers 36, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    5. Vincent A. Hildebrand & María Noel Pi Alperin & Philippe Van Kerm, 2017. "Measuring and Accounting for the Deprivation Gap of Portuguese Immigrants in Luxembourg," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 63(2), pages 288-309, June.
    6. Cantillon, Bea & Chzhen, Yekaterina & Handa, Sudhanshu & Nolan, Brian (ed.), 2017. "Children of Austerity: Impact of the Great Recession on Child Poverty in Rich Countries," OUP Catalogue, Oxford University Press, number 9780198797968.
    7. Brunell, Thomas L. & DiNardo, John, 2004. "A Propensity Score Reweighting Approach to Estimating the Partisan Effects of Full Turnout in American Presidential Elections," Political Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(1), pages 28-45, January.
    8. Laura Feiveson, 2018. "How Does Intergenerational Wealth Transmission Affect Wealth Concentration?," FEDS Notes 2018-06-01, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    9. Atkinson, Anthony B., 2015. "Inequality: what can be done?," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 101810, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    10. Alexis Yamokoski & Lisa Keister, 2006. "The Wealth Of Single Women: Marital Status And Parenthood In The Asset Accumulation Of Young Baby Boomers In The United States," Feminist Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(1-2), pages 167-194.
    11. Jesse Bricker & Alice Henriques & Jacob Krimmel & John Sabelhaus, 2016. "Estimating Top Income and Wealth Shares: Sensitivity to Data and Methods," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(5), pages 641-645, May.
    12. Lersch, Philipp M. & Grabka, Markus M. & Rüß, Kilian & Schröder, Carsten, 2021. "Wealth of children from single-parent families: Low levels and high inequality in Germany," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 31(5), pages 565-579.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Morelli, Salvatore & Nolan, Brian & Palomino, Juan & Van Kerm, Philippe, 2021. "Inheritance, Gifts and the Wealth Deficit of Low-Income Households," SocArXiv 2mpuh, Center for Open Science.
    2. Kuypers, Sarah & Marchal, Sarah & Verbist, Gerlinde & Marx, Ive, 2020. "Singling out the truly needy: the role of asset testing in European minimum income schemes," EUROMOD Working Papers EM4/20, EUROMOD at the Institute for Social and Economic Research.
    3. Salvatore Morelli, 2020. "The Dynamics of Wealth Concentration: Thoughts on Tony Atkinson’s Contributions," Italian Economic Journal: A Continuation of Rivista Italiana degli Economisti and Giornale degli Economisti, Springer;Società Italiana degli Economisti (Italian Economic Association), vol. 6(1), pages 197-205, March.
    4. Rense Nieuwenhuis & Teresa Munzi & J rg Neugschwender & Heba Omar & Flaviana Palmisano, 2019. "Gender Equality and Poverty are Intrinsically Linked," LIS Working papers 759, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    5. Maurizio Franzini & Mario Pianta, 2015. "The making of inequality.Capital, labour and the distribution of income," Working Papers 1507, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Department of Economics, Society & Politics - Scientific Committee - L. Stefanini & G. Travaglini, revised 2015.
    6. Brian Nolan & Juan Palomino & Philippe Van Kerm & Salvatore Morelli, 2020. "Intergenerational Transfers by Size and Wealth Inequality in Rich Countries," CSEF Working Papers 578, Centre for Studies in Economics and Finance (CSEF), University of Naples, Italy.
    7. Janet C. Gornick & Laurie C. Maldonado & Amanda Sheely, 2022. "Effective Policies for Single-Parent Families and Prospects for Policy Reforms in the United States: Concluding Reflections," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 702(1), pages 236-251, July.
    8. Elin Halvorsen & Thor O. Thoresen, 2021. "Distributional Effects of a Wealth Tax under Lifetime‐Dynastic Income Concepts," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 123(1), pages 184-215, January.
    9. Maurizio Franzini & Mario Pianta, 2015. "Four engines of inequality," LEM Papers Series 2015/20, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    10. Felipe Martínez & Francisca Uribe, 2018. "Determinants of Household Position within Chilean Wealth Household’s Distribution," Working Papers Central Bank of Chile 827, Central Bank of Chile.
    11. Peppel-Srebrny, Jemima, 2021. "Not all government budget deficits are created equal: Evidence from advanced economies' sovereign bond markets," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    12. Gunther Bensch & Jörg Peters, 2013. "Alleviating Deforestation Pressures? Impacts of Improved Stove Dissemination on Charcoal Consumption in Urban Senegal," Land Economics, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 89(4), pages 676-698.
    13. Scott Duke Kominers & Alexander Teytelboym & Vincent P Crawford, 2017. "An invitation to market design," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 33(4), pages 541-571.
    14. Franzini, Maurizio & Raitano, Michele, 2019. "Earnings inequality and workers’ skills in Italy," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 215-224.
    15. Philip Vermeulen, 2016. "Estimating the Top Tail of the Wealth Distribution," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(5), pages 646-650, May.
    16. Timm Bönke & Markus M. Grabka & Carsten Schröder & Edward N. Wolff & Lennard Zyska, 2019. "The Joint Distribution of Net Worth and Pension Wealth in Germany," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 65(4), pages 834-871, December.
    17. Islam, Nizamul & Colombino, Ugo, 2018. "The case for NIT+FT in Europe. An empirical optimal taxation exercise," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 38-69.
    18. Ampudia, Miguel & Pavlickova, Akmaral & Slacalek, Jiri & Vogel, Edgar, 2016. "Household heterogeneity in the euro area since the onset of the Great Recession," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 38(1), pages 181-197.
    19. Valeria Bonis & Luca Spataro, 2018. "Optimal income taxation and migration," International Tax and Public Finance, Springer;International Institute of Public Finance, vol. 25(4), pages 867-882, August.
    20. Fernanda L L de Leon, 2013. "Adding Ideology to the Equation: New Predictions for Election Results under Compulsory Voting," University of East Anglia Applied and Financial Economics Working Paper Series 044, School of Economics, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK..

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sae:anname:v:702:y:2022:i:1:p:188-204. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.