Using data on seven countries, we estimate trajectories in family incomes for families with and without children following several stylized life-courses. Focusing mainly on women with a medium level of education, we find, in general, that gaps in family income are smallest in the Nordic countries, intermediate in the Anglo-American countries, and largest in the continental European countries. Our findings are similar to patterns observed in the literature on family gaps in women's earnings and suggest that differences in earnings and labour market participation between women with different family histories are the major driver in the gaps in gross and disposable incomes that we observe.
Aassve, A., Mazzuco, S. and Mencarini, L. (2005) `Childbearing and Well-being: a Comparative Analysis of European Welfare Regimes', Journal of European Social Policy15 (4): 283—99.
2.
Andersson, G. (2002) `Children's Experience of Family Disruption and Family Formation: Evidence from 16 FFS Countries', Demographic Research7 (7): 343—64.
3.
Anxo, D. and O'Reilly, J. (2000) `Working Time Regimes and Transitions in Comparative Perspective', in J. O'Reilly, I. Cebrián, and M. Lallement (eds) Working Time Changes: Integration through Transitional Labour Markets. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
4.
Bradshaw, J. and Finch, N. (2002) `A Comparison of Child Benefit Packages in 22 Countries' , Department for Work and Pensions Research Report No. 174. Leeds: Corporate Document Services.
5.
Browning, M. (1992) `Children and Household Economic Behavior', Journal of Economic Literature30 (3): 1434—75.
6.
Budig, M. and England, P. (2001) `The Wage Penalty for Motherhood', American Sociological Review66 (2): 204—25.
7.
Casper, L.M., McLanahan S. S. and Garfinkel, I. (1994) `The Gender—Poverty Gap: What We Can Learn from Other Countries', American Sociological Review59 (4): 594—605.
8.
Cousins, C. and Tang, N. (2002a) Working Time and Family Life in the UKUniversity of Hertfordshire Business School Employment Studies Unit Working Paper Series.
9.
Cousins, C. and Tang, N. (2002b) `Working Time Flexibility and Family Life: an Analysis of the “Households, Work and Flexibility” Surveys', paper presented at the Gender Research Forum (Nov.), London.
10.
Davies, H. and Joshi, H. (1994) `The Foregone Earnings of Europe's Mothers', in O. Eckert (ed.), Standards of Living and Families: Observation and Analysis. Paris: INED John Libbey Eurotext.
11.
Dingeldy, I. (2001) `European Tax Systems and their Impact on Family Employment Patterns', Journal of Social Policy30: 653—72.
12.
Elizabeth, V. (2001) `Managing Money, Managing Coupledom: a Critical Examination of Cohabitant's Money Management Practices', Sociological Review49 (3): 389—411.
13.
Esping-Andersen, G. (1990) The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
14.
Folbre, N. (2001) `Leave No Child Behind?', The American Prospect12: 20—2.
15.
Kunz, J., Villeneuve, P. and Garfinkel, I. (2001) `Child Support Among Selected OECD Countries: a Comparative Analysis', in K. Vlemincx and T. Smeeding (eds) Child Well-being, Child Poverty, and Child Policy in Modern Nations. Bristol : Policy Press.
16.
Lewis, J. (1997) Lone Mothers and European Welfare Regimes. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
17.
Lundberg, S. (1988) `Labour Supply of Husbands and Wives: a Simultaneous Equations Approach', Review of Economics and Statistics70 (2): 224—35.
18.
Lundberg, S. and Rose, E. (2000) `Parenthood and the Earnings of Married Men and Women', Labour Economics7 (6): 689—710.
19.
Lundberg, S., Pollack, R. and Wales, T. (1997) `Do Husbands and Wives Pool Their Resources? Evidence from the United Kingdom Child Benefit', Journal of Human Resources32 (3): 463—80.
20.
Montanari, I. (2000) `From Family Wage to Marriage Subsidy and Child Benefits: Controversy and Consensus in the Development of Family Support' , Journal of European Social Policy10 (4): 307—33.
21.
Neumark, D. and Korenman, S. (1991) `Does Marriage Really Make Men More Productive ?', Journal of Human Resources26 (2): 282—307.
22.
Nyman, C. (2003) `The Social Nature of Money: Meanings of Money in Swedish Families', Women's Studies International Forum26 (1): 79—94.
23.
O'Donoghue, C. and Sutherland, H. (1999). `Accounting for the Family in European Income Tax Systems', Cambridge Journal of Economics23 (5): 565—98.
24.
OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) (2001) Trends in Working Hours in OECD Countries , Labour Market and Social Policy Occasional Papers No. 45. Paris: OECD.
25.
Pahl, J. (1989) Money and Marriage. London: Macmillan.
26.
Pencavel, J. (1986) `Labour Supply of Men: a Survey', in O. Ashenfelter and R. Layard (eds) Handbook of Labour Economics. New York: Elsevier Publishers.
27.
Rainwater, L. and Smeeding, T. (2003) Poor Kids in a Rich Country: America's Children in Comparative Perspective. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
28.
Rubery, J., Smith, M. and Fagan, C. (1998) `National Working Time Regimes and Equal Opportunities' , Feminist Economics4 (1): 71—101.
29.
Shaver, S. and Bradshaw, J. (1995) `The Recognition of Wifely Labour by Welfare States' , Social Policy and Administration29 (1): 10—25.
30.
Sigle-Rushton, W. and Kenney, C. (2003) `Public Policy and Families', in J. Scott, J. Treas and M. Richards (eds) Blackwell Companion to the Sociology of FamiliesLondon: Blackwell.
31.
Sigle-Rushton, W. and Waldfogel, J. (2007) `Motherhood and Women's Earnings in Anglo-American, Continental European, and Nordic Countries', Feminist Economics13(2): 55—92.
32.
Smeeding, T. (2001) Procuring Microdata Files for the LIS Project Databank: Progress and Promise. Luxembourg Income Study Working Paper No. 250. Available from: [http://www.lisproject.org/publications/liswps/250.pdf].
33.
Smeeding, T. (2002) `The LIS/LES Project: Overview and Recent Developments ', The Journal of Population and Social Security (web journal) 11 March. Available at: [http://www.ipss.go.jp/English/WebJournal.files/SocialSecurity/2002/02mar/Smeeding.pdf].
34.
Smock, P.J., Manning, W. and Gupta S. (1999) `The Effect of Marriage and Divorce on Women's Economic Well-being', American Sociological Review64 (6): 794—812.
35.
Sorensen, A. (1994) `Women's Economic Risk and the Economic Position of Single Mothers', European Sociological Review10 (2): 173—88.
36.
Sorensen, A. and McLanahan, S. (1987) `Married Women's Economic Dependency, 1940—1980 ', The American Journal of Sociology93 (3): 659—87.
37.
Vogler, C. and Pahl, J. (1994) `Money, Power, and Inequality within Marriage' , Sociological Review42 (2): 262—8.
38.
Waldfogel, J. (1998) `Understanding the “Family Gap” in Pay for Women with Children', Journal of Economic Perspectives12 (1): 137—56.
39.
Waldfogel, J. (2001) `What Other Nations Do: International Policies toward Parental Leave and Child Care', The Future of Children11 (1): 99—111.
40.
Wilson, G. (1987) `Money: Patterns of Responsibility and Irresponsibility in Marriage', in J. Brannen and G. Wilson (eds) Give and Take in Families: Studies in Resource Distribution. London: Allen and Unwin.
