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Wealth Accumulation and Retirement Preparedness in Cross-National Perspective: A Gendered Analysis of Outcomes among Single Adults

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  • Gornick, Janet

    (CUNY Graduate Center)

  • Sierminska, Eva

    (Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER))

Abstract

Wealth is an increasingly important dimension of economic well-being and is attracting rising attention in discussions of social inequality. In this paper, we compare – within and across countries – wealth outcomes, and link those to both employment-related factors and policy solutions that have the potential to improve wealth creation and retirement security for women. By constructing country-specific portraits of wealth outcomes and "retirement preparedness," we reveal extensive cross-national variation in multiple facets of wealth. Our regression analysis finds a statistically significant and positive effect of work experience on wealth, with that effect, in general, increasing over time. The effect of work experience for single women is greater than for single men, suggesting that, among men, other, stronger forces are at work in creating wealth. The retirement preparedness outcomes indicate that single women in all three countries are in a precarious position at retirement, with much lower expected annual wealth levels than single men. The second preparedness indicator, which links expected annual wealth to income, demonstrates that men have the potential to cover 1larger shares of their income at retirement – and thus are more able, than their female counterparts, to maintain standards of living achieved earlier in life. Our policy discussion indicates that employment remains a viable option for ultimately bolstering women's wealth accumulation. Many scholars, gender equality advocates, and policymakers have argued for raising women's employment rates – for a multitude of reasons – but few, if any, have made the case for strengthening women's employment in order to ultimately bolster women's wealth building. We hope to help reduce the gap in the literature on policy supports for women's employment and re-open the discussion on how women can create more wealth.

Suggested Citation

  • Gornick, Janet & Sierminska, Eva, 2021. "Wealth Accumulation and Retirement Preparedness in Cross-National Perspective: A Gendered Analysis of Outcomes among Single Adults," IZA Policy Papers 181, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izapps:pp181
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    Cited by:

    1. Sierminska, Eva & Wroński, Marcin, 2022. "Inequality and Public Pension Entitlements," GLO Discussion Paper Series 1212, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    2. Elizaveta A. Belousova, 2022. "Economic well-being: Semantic environment and research contexts at a municipal level," Journal of New Economy, Ural State University of Economics, vol. 23(4), pages 46-68, January.
    3. Janet C. Gornick & Laurie C. Maldonado & Amanda Sheely, 2022. "Effective Policies for Single-Parent Families and Prospects for Policy Reforms in the United States: Concluding Reflections," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 702(1), pages 236-251, July.
    4. Salvatore Morelli & Brian Nolan & Juan C. Palomino & Philippe Van Kerm, 2022. "The Wealth (Disadvantage) of Single-Parent Households," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 702(1), pages 188-204, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    wealth; gender; labor market;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

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