Economic Independence and Union Formation in Sweden

Bracher, Michael; Santow, Gigi

doi:10.1080/0032472031000150466

Cited by 110 publications

(116 citation statements)

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“…While the theory of gender specialisation (Becker 1991) predicts that only women prefer a high-earning partner, the theory of pooling of resources (Oppenheimer 1997(Oppenheimer , 2003 suggests that this preference holds across sexes. In the Nordic context, empirical studies show a positive impact of earnings on union entry for both men (Petersen, Penner, and Høgsnes 2011;Sweeney 2002) and women (Bracher and Santow 1998;Jalovaara 2012), overall lending support to the theory of pooling of resources. The results for union dissolution are more mixed: A similar earnings level between cohabiting spouses is correlated with reduced risk of union dissolution (Brines and Joyner 1999;Jalovaara 2013;Kalmijn, Loeve, and Manting 2007), while his higher earnings protect against divorce and her higher earnings elevates the divorce risk (Lyngstad 2004 for Norway; Jalovaara 2003 for Finland).…”

Section: Union Entry and Stability As A Mediatormentioning

confidence: 93%

Earnings and first birth probability among Norwegian men and women 1995-2010

Hart¹

2015

DemRes

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BACKGROUNDThe relationship between earnings and fertility and how it varies with context are among the core investigations of demography. Cross-country comparisons show that when parenting and employment are in conflict, this relationship is less positive for women. We lack knowledge of how this relationship is shaped by context for men and how it varies with contextual changes over time rather than between countries. OBJECTIVE I investigate how the relationship between earnings and first-birth probability changes over time for men and women, in a period when efforts in parenting and paid work become increasingly similar across sex. METHODSDiscrete-time hazard regressions are applied to highly accurate data from Norwegian population registers. Through estimation of separate models for each of the years 1995 through 2010, I assess whether the correlation between yearly earnings and the first birth probabilities changed over period time. The correlation is estimated net of observable confounders, such as educational enrolment and attainment and region of birth. RESULTSThe correlation between earnings and fertility has become substantially more positive over time for women, and also somewhat more positive among men. CONCLUSIONSThough the potential opportunity cost of fathering increases, there is no evidence of a weaker correlation between earnings and first birth probability for men. I suggest that decreasing opportunity costs of motherhood as well as strategic timing of fertility are both plausible explanations for the increasingly positive correlation among women.

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Section: Union Entry and Stability As A Mediatormentioning

confidence: 93%

Earnings and first birth probability among Norwegian men and women 1995-2010

Hart¹

2015

DemRes

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“…Cohabitants are often supposed to value equality higher than do married people (see e.g. Lewis (2001) and Bracher and Santow (1998)), but they are not able to be as egalitarian and equal as married couples.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lewis also claims that cohabitants often are more egalitarian and value independence more highly than do married individuals. Also Bracher and Santow (1998) discuss possible reasons that couples choose informal cohabitation instead of marriage, and especially mention gender equality and mutual independence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Cohabitation and Marriage in a Risky World

Nordblom

2004

Rev Econ Household

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Cohabiting and married couples are analysed in presence of income uncertainty and precautionary saving. Married couples have legal constraints on their relationship that force them to act cooperatively, while cohabitants are likely to act non-cooperatively. This makes risk sharing different for different couples; cohabitants share risk to a lesser extent than do married couples, and their savings decision is further distorted by strategic undersaving. The conclusion is therefore a kind of paradox, cohabitants who have abstained from marriage due to higher preferences for independence and equality are less equal than married couples, and they also act strategically to be able to increase assistance from their partner.JEL: D64, D81, J12

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“…Empirical studies generally support the view that, for men, unemployment, low earnings, and career 'immaturity' lead to delays in marrying. Evidence of this effect has been found both in the USA and in Europe, although it is somewhat less consistent in Europe (Lichter et al 1992;Lloyd and South 1996;Oppenheimer et al 1997;Smock and Manning 1997;Bracher and Santow 1998;Kravdal 1999;Liefbroer and Corijn 1999;Sassler and Schoen 1999;Sweeney 2002;Oppenheimer 2003;Xie et al 2003;Sassler and Goldscheider 2004;Blossfeld et al 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Has the reciprocal relationship between employment and marriage changed for men? An analysis of the life histories of men born in the Netherlands between 1930 and 1970

Kalmijn

Luijkx

2005

Population Studies

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General rightsCopyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights.-Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research -You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain -You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal Take down policyIf you believe that this document breaches copyright, please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. This article maybe used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, re-distribution, re-selling, loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden.The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material. The study presented here analyses the reciprocal relationship for men between employment career and union formation and examines whether this relationship changed across twentieth-century birth cohorts.Competing hypotheses about trends are described, using notions of role-specialization, spouse support, and uncertainty. The study is based on an investigation of the life histories of 2,795 men in the Netherlands who were born between the 1930s and the 1960s, and confirms earlier findings by showing that employment fosters marriage while marriage protects men from becoming unemployed. There is also a relationship between employment and cohabitation but it is weaker in both directions. However, the relationship between marriage or cohabitation and occupational mobility is less clear, suggesting that the economic benefits of marriage cannot be generalized to the occupational domain. Although it is commonly believed that the link for men between career and marriage has weakened over time, our comparison of birth cohorts shows that in fact this is not the case.

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Economic Independence and Union Formation in Sweden

Cited by 110 publications

References 20 publications

Earnings and first birth probability among Norwegian men and women 1995-2010

Earnings and first birth probability among Norwegian men and women 1995-2010

Cohabitation and Marriage in a Risky World

Has the reciprocal relationship between employment and marriage changed for men? An analysis of the life histories of men born in the Netherlands between 1930 and 1970

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