Single Parents, Marital Status and “Wealth-Being""

We examine the economic well-being of single parents in a cross-national perspective and compare their wealth levels to that of other family types. We find similarities and differences in economic well-being as measured by wealth, across seven countries that represent various welfare systems. In most countries, single parents have less than 50% of wealth in the hands of their coupled counterparts. When studying single parents’ economic well-being it is important to account for their life trajectories before becoming a single parent. This paper focuses on this notion. Our results suggest that, to be better off, single- parents would need to be homeowners not living in the United States, even if they are highly educated located at the bottom of the wealth distribution. Since single parents are often at the receiving end of social benefits, means-tested (not universal) benefits may hamper their wealth accumulation patterns. We zoom into this process.