Nation-Level Gender Inequality and Couples’ Income Arrangements

Using data from the 2012 International Social Survey Program (n = 8269), this study investigated how couples integrate and manage their income across 20 countries with varying degrees of gender inequality. Couples were more likely to report that one person managed the shared pot of money in countries with high gender inequality compared with couples in more gender equal countries. This pattern was not moderated by within-couple earnings equality. We found a cohabitation—marriage gap in income arrangements that is largest where national-level gender equality is high. In more gender equal contexts, married couples were more likely to pool and manage their money together, whereas a larger proportion of married couples assigned one money manager in countries with less gender equality. Cohabiting couples were more likely to keep some money separate than to take-up a pooled, jointly managed approach in more gender equal countries. Findings demonstrate the need to consider both management and pooling dimensions of couples’ treatment of money to understand the influence of contextual factors on couples’ income arrangements.