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Income distribution and financial satisfaction between spouses in Europe

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  • Bonke, Jens

Abstract

The article analyses the distribution of income between spouses and the consequences for their financial satisfaction within different welfare regimes. We find that the financial satisfaction of husbands declines and that the financial satisfaction of wives increases the more a wife earns relative to her husband. However, the relationships are often of an inversed U-shaped form for both sexes, with men achieving the highest satisfaction at an earlier stage than women. Within the Scandinavian welfare state regime this optimal distribution is found closer to the actual income distribution than in the continental European and liberal regimes, and in the southern European regime the optimal distribution is far from being achieved.

Suggested Citation

  • Bonke, Jens, 2008. "Income distribution and financial satisfaction between spouses in Europe," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 2291-2303, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:soceco:v:37:y:2008:i:6:p:2291-2303
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    1. Javier G. Boncompte & Ricardo D. Paredes, 2020. "Human Capital Endowments and Gender Differences in Subjective Well-Being in Chile," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 21(1), pages 241-269, January.
    2. Panos Mavrokonstantis, 2015. "Modern Family: Female Breadwinners and the Intergenerational Transmission of Gender Norms," STICERD - Public Economics Programme Discussion Papers 27, Suntory and Toyota International Centres for Economics and Related Disciplines, LSE.
    3. Lu Fan & Soomin Ryu, 2025. "Young Women’s Financial Satisfaction: The Roles of Financial Decision-Making Power, Spousal Relative Resources, and Personal Financial Characteristics," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 46(1), pages 228-245, March.
    4. Jaslin K Kalsi & Siobhan Austen & Astghik Mavisakalyan, 2022. "Employment and the distribution of intra-household financial satisfaction," The Economic and Labour Relations Review, , vol. 33(2), pages 329-350, June.
    5. Namkee Ahn & Victoria Ateca-Amestoy & Arantza Ugidos, 2014. "Financial Satisfaction from an Intra-Household Perspective," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 15(5), pages 1109-1123, October.

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