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Marry into new or old money? The distributional impact of marital decisions from an intergenerational perspective

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  • Häner-Müller, Melanie
  • Salvi, Michele
  • Schaltegger, Christoph A.

Abstract

How sticky is wealth inequality across generations due to marital sorting? To analyze this question, we utilize a comprehensive Swiss dataset. Our findings highlight that marital sorting based on wealth is especially pronounced at the extremes of the wealth distribution, exacerbating wealth inequality. Simultaneously, we observe that the similarity in wealth between the parents of married partners is substantially less pronounced. Our findings suggest a more significant occurrence of marriages into ”new money” than ”old money”. Consequently, our study shows that parental wealth has a limited role in contributing to the inequality stemming from marital choices. We present evidence that intergenerational social mobility plays a pivotal role in counteracting the potential intensification of wealth structures due to marriage.

Suggested Citation

  • Häner-Müller, Melanie & Salvi, Michele & Schaltegger, Christoph A., 2024. "Marry into new or old money? The distributional impact of marital decisions from an intergenerational perspective," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 224(C), pages 672-687.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jeborg:v:224:y:2024:i:c:p:672-687
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2024.06.002
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Assortative mating; Parents; Intergenerational mobility; Wealth; Inequality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J62 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Job, Occupational and Intergenerational Mobility; Promotion

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