Who Manages the Money at Home? Multilevel Analysis of Couples’ Money Management Across 34 Countries

Abstract

Women’s and men’s predominant social practices in managing employment and unpaid work are influenced by both family policies and society’s predominant cultural family models. Comparative approaches integrating macro-level and micro-level variables are increasingly used to study gendered dynamics in intimate relationships. Yet similar comparative approaches to the study of money management in intimate relationships are lacking. Using data from 34 countries surveyed in International Social Survey Programme 2012 data (N = 13,645), I explore how variation in institutional and cultural factors concerning gender expectations shapes money management decisions in intimate relationships. The results highlight the importance of contextual gender-egalitarian beliefs and institutional practices to the likelihood of using joint and individualized systems of money management over the traditional system. While macro-level gender ideology was associated with both joint and individualized system (vs. traditional), the institutional practices were found to have a stronger relationship with couples’ individualized money management.