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Sexual orientation and household savings: do homosexual couples save more?

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  • Brighita Negrusa

    () (RAND Corporation)

  • Sonia Oreffice

    (Universidad de Alicante)

Abstract

We analyze how sexual orientation is related to household savings using 2000 US Census data, and find that gay and lesbian couples own more retirement income than do heterosexual ones, while cohabiting heterosexuals save more than their married counterparts. In a household savings model, we interpret this homosexual-specific differential as due to the extremely low fertility of same-sex households, in addition to the precautionary motives driving cohabiting couples to save more than married ones. Evidence from homeowners’ ratio of mortgage payments to house value exhibits the same pattern of savings differentials by sexual orientation and cohabiting status.

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File URL: http://www.ivie.es/downloads/docs/wpasad/wpasad-2010-21.pdf
File Function: Fisrt version / Primera version, 2010
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Bibliographic Info

Paper provided by Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie) in its series Working Papers. Serie AD with number 2010-21.

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Length: 1 pages
Date of creation: Jun 2010
Date of revision:
Publication status: Published by Ivie
Handle: RePEc:ivi:wpasad:2010-21

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Keywords: sexual orientation; household savings; retirement; housing;

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References

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  1. John M. Blandford, 2003. "The nexus of sexual orientation and gender in the determination of earnings," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 56(4), pages 622-642, July.
  2. Marieka Klawitter, 2008. "The effects of sexual orientation and marital status on how couples hold their money," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 6(4), pages 423-446, December.
  3. Christopher A. Jepsen & Lisa K. Jepsen, 2006. "The Sexual Division of Labor Within Households: Comparisons of Couples to Roommates," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 32(2), pages 299-312, Spring.
  4. Mariacristina De Nardi & Eric French & John Bailey Jones, 2009. "Life Expectancy and Old Age Savings," NBER Working Papers 14653, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  5. Jepsen, Christopher & Jepsen, Lisa K., 2009. "Does home ownership vary by sexual orientation?," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 307-315, May.
  6. Angus S. Deaton & Christina Paxson, 1994. "Saving, Growth, and Aging in Taiwan," NBER Chapters, in: Studies in the Economics of Aging, pages 331-362 National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
  7. Shelly Lundberg & Jennifer Ward-Batts, 2000. "Saving for Retirement: Household Bargaining and Household Net Worth," Discussion Papers in Economics at the University of Washington 0026, Department of Economics at the University of Washington.
  8. Sonia Oreffice, 2008. "Sexual Orientation and Household Decision Making. Same-Sex Couples’ Balance of Power and Labor Supply Choices," Working Papers 2008.81, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
  9. Julie Zissimopoulos & Benjamin Karney & Amy Rauer, 2008. "Marital Histories and Economic Well-Being," Working Papers 645, RAND Corporation Publications Department.
  10. Dan Black & Gary Gates & Seth Sanders & Lowell Taylor, 2000. "Demographics of the gay and lesbian population in the United States: Evidence from available systematic data sources," Demography, Springer, vol. 37(2), pages 139-154, May.
  11. Martin Browning & Mette Ejrnæs, 2009. "Consumption and Children," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(1), pages 93-111, February.
  12. Erik Hurst & Ming Ching Luoh & Frank P. Stafford, 1998. "The Wealth Dynamics of American Families, 1984-94," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 29(1), pages 267-338.
  13. Chiappori, Pierre-Andre, 1988. "Rational Household Labor Supply," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 56(1), pages 63-90, January.
  14. J. Trent Alexander & Michael Davern & Betsey Stevenson, 2010. "Inaccurate age and sex data in the Census PUMS files: evidence and implications," Working Paper Series 2010-03, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.
  15. Edward N. Wolff, 1998. "Recent Trends in the Size Distribution of Household Wealth," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 12(3), pages 131-150, Summer.
  16. JohnKarl Scholz & Ananth Seshadri, 2007. "Children and Household Wealth," Working Papers wp158, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center.
  17. Dan A. Black & Seth G. Sanders & Lowell J. Taylor, 2007. "The Economics of Lesbian and Gay Families," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(2), pages 53-70, Spring.
  18. repec:oxf:wpaper:427 is not listed on IDEAS
  19. Lisa Jepsen & Christopher Jepsen, 2002. "An empirical analysis of the matching patterns of same-sex and opposite-sex couples," Demography, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 435-453, August.
  20. Antecol, Heather & Steinberger, Michael D., 2009. "Female Labor Supply Differences by Sexual Orientation: A Semi-Parametric Decomposition Approach," IZA Discussion Papers 4029, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
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Citations

Blog mentions

As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
  1. Save if you're glad to be gay
    by Kevin Denny in Geary Behaviour Centre on 2010-06-22 09:55:00
  2. Homosexuals and savings
    by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2010-08-19 14:20:00
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Cited by:
  1. Carolina Silva Cassorla, 2010. "The interaction of minimum wage and severance payments in a frictional labor market: theory and estimation," Working Papers. Serie AD 2010-22, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Económicas, S.A. (Ivie).
  2. Brighita Negrusa & Sonia Oreffice, 2011. "Sexual orientation and household financial decisions: evidence from couples in the United States," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 9(4), pages 445-463, December.

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