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How Does Marriage Affect the Allocation of Assets in Women's Defined Contribution Plans?

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Author Info
Angela C. Lyons () (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Tansel Yilmazer () (Purdue University)

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Abstract

Past studies that examine gender differences in investment decisions have treated married households as a single decision- making unit. This study improves upon traditional unitary bargaining models and estimates a series of unitary and collective-type models to investigate how a husband’s age and relative control over financial resources affects the allocation of assets in women’s defined contribution plans. Using data from the Survey of Consumer Finances, the results show that women who are married to less educated and older men are less likely to take on risk with their portfolios. Women who earn a greater share of the household’s total earnings are also less likely to invest in risky assets. There is little evidence that the characteristics of the wife affect the husband’s investment decisions. The findings have important policy implications, especially with respect to proposed Social Security reforms which would enable workers to choose how their personal security accounts are invested.

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Paper provided by Center for Retirement Research in its series Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College with number 2004-28.

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Length: 20 pages
Date of creation: Nov 2004
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:crr:crrwps:2004-28

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Related research
Keywords: gender investment marriage

Find related papers by JEL classification:
J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty
G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions

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References listed on IDEAS
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  1. Dwyer, Peggy D. & Gilkeson, James H. & List, John A., 2002. "Gender differences in revealed risk taking: evidence from mutual fund investors," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 76(2), pages 151-158, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Browning, Martin, 2000. " The Saving Behaviour of a Two-Person Household," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 102(2), pages 235-51, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  3. Ted Bergstrom, 1995. "A Survey of Theories of the Family," Papers _027, University of Michigan, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Shelly Lundberg & Richard Startz & Steven Stillman, 2001. "The Retirement-Consumption Puzzle: A Marital Bargaining Approach," Working Papers 01-04, RAND Corporation Publications Department. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  5. Shelly J. Lundberg & Jennifer Ward-Batts, 2000. "Saving for Retirement: Household Bargaining and Household Net Worth," Working Papers wp004, University of Michigan, Michigan Retirement Research Center. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Haliassos, Michael & Bertaut, Carol C, 1995. "Why Do So Few Hold Stocks?," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 105(432), pages 1110-29, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Sunden, Annika E & Surette, Brian J, 1998. "Gender Differences in the Allocation of Assets in Retirement Savings Plans," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(2), pages 207-11, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Bajtelsmit, Vickie L. & Bernasek, Alexandra & Jianakoplos, Nancy A., 1999. "Gender differences in defined contribution pension decisions," Financial Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 8(1), pages 1-10. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  9. Jianakoplos, Nancy Ammon & Bernasek, Alexandra, 1998. "Are Women More Risk Averse?," Economic Inquiry, Oxford University Press, vol. 36(4), pages 620-30, October.
  10. Lundberg, Shelly & Pollak, Robert A, 1994. "Noncooperative Bargaining Models of Marriage," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(2), pages 132-37, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Lundberg, Shelly & Pollak, Robert A, 1996. "Bargaining and Distribution in Marriage," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 10(4), pages 139-58, Fall. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Leora Friedberg & Anthony Webb, 2006. "Determinants and Consequences of Bargaining Power in Households," Working Papers, Center for Retirement Research at Boston College wp2006-13, Center for Retirement Research, revised Jun 2006. [Downloadable!]
  2. Leora Friedberg & Anthony Webb, 2006. "Determinants and Consequences of Bargaining Power in Households," NBER Working Papers 12367, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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