Abstract
Research has found that married individuals who cohabited only once before marriage with their future spouse (i.e., “spousal
cohabiters”) have a distinctive financial advantage: they accumulate more wealth over time than individuals who married without
ever cohabiting (i.e., “directly married”). Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and growth curve models,
the present study attempts to identify the source of spousal cohabiters’ wealth advantage. We find that marriage is associated
with gains for financial and nonfinancial wealth, increasing home equity, and decreasing debt over time. Spousal cohabiters
begin marriage with more debt than the directly married. Conditional on education, income, and other key factors, spousal
cohabiters pay down their debt faster and generate greater home equity over time thereby accumulating more wealth than the
directly married. This pattern of financial behavior among spousal cohabiters explains some, but not all, of their financial
advantage over married persons who never cohabited prior to marrying. Given the increasing prevalence of cohabitation among
young adults, these results offer important insights into the long-term economic outcomes associated with premarital cohabitation.
cohabiters”) have a distinctive financial advantage: they accumulate more wealth over time than individuals who married without
ever cohabiting (i.e., “directly married”). Using the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and growth curve models,
the present study attempts to identify the source of spousal cohabiters’ wealth advantage. We find that marriage is associated
with gains for financial and nonfinancial wealth, increasing home equity, and decreasing debt over time. Spousal cohabiters
begin marriage with more debt than the directly married. Conditional on education, income, and other key factors, spousal
cohabiters pay down their debt faster and generate greater home equity over time thereby accumulating more wealth than the
directly married. This pattern of financial behavior among spousal cohabiters explains some, but not all, of their financial
advantage over married persons who never cohabited prior to marrying. Given the increasing prevalence of cohabitation among
young adults, these results offer important insights into the long-term economic outcomes associated with premarital cohabitation.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Original Paper
- Pages 1-16
- DOI 10.1007/s10834-012-9310-7
- Authors
- Matthew A. Painter, Department of Sociology, University of Wyoming, 411 Ross Hall, 1000 E. University Ave, Laramie, WY 82071, USA
- Jonathan Vespa, Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA
- Journal Journal of Family and Economic Issues
- Online ISSN 1573-3475
- Print ISSN 1058-0476