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Just Living Together

Author

Listed:
  • María-José González

    (Universitat Pompeu Fabra)

  • Pau Miret-Gamundi

    (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

  • Rocío Treviño

    (Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics (CED))

Abstract

This article tests the assumption that cohabitation makes a difference in the allocation of child care responsibilities within couples. It has often been presumed that cohabiting individuals are less likely to adhere to traditional gender ideology than married persons, because they tend to have a lower tolerance for poorly functioning relationships, assign more value to individual freedom and base their relationship on egalitarian individualism rather than on the joint utility maximization of married couples. So far, however, most studies have focused on the determinants and consequences of being in cohabitation and have overlooked its gender implications. Here we explore whether fathers in consensual unions are more prone than fathers in marital unions to share childcare responsibilities with their female partners. We use multilevel regression models for panel data to analyse ECHP in the period between 1996 and 2001. Our sample included around 13,000 couples living in heterosexual partnerships with small children (at least one child below age 13), and yielded around 45,000 observations over this period of time in ten Western European nations. We found weak evidence of the influence of cohabitation on gender equality as compared to married couples, while discovering that the diffusion of cohabitation at the societal level is associated with more equal allotment of child care among partners.

Suggested Citation

  • María-José González & Pau Miret-Gamundi & Rocío Treviño, 2010. "Just Living Together," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 23(16), pages 445-478.
  • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:23:y:2010:i:16
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2010.23.16
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pau Baizán Munoz & Arnstein Aassve & Francesco C. Billari, 2001. "Cohabitation, marriage, first birth: the interrelationship of family formation events in Spain," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2001-036, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    2. Pau Baizán & Arnstein Aassve & Francesco C. Billari, 2003. "Cohabitation, Marriage, and First Birth: The Interrelationship of Family Formation Events in Spain," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 19(2), pages 147-169, June.
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    cohabitation; Europe; European Community Household Panel (ECHP); gender division of child care;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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