Gender Differences in Couples' Matrimonial Property Regime in Italy

Abstract

Objective This study investigates the characteristics of spouses in Italy who choose to pool their economic resources. Background If resource pooling is common among male‐breadwinner couples, expectations regarding resource pooling are mixed for female‐breadwinner couples or, more generally, for couples with wives who are economically advantaged when compared with their husbands. This study asks whether resource‐pooling strategies differ between couples with economically advantaged husbands, couples with economically advantaged wives, and couples in which spouses have similar economic resources. Method The article uses an objective measure of pooling of wealth available for Italy at the time of marriage: the matrimonial property regime, indicating the choice between a shared or separate ownership of assets accumulated during marriage. Using data from the 2015 marriage register, the article models the probability that a couple chooses the community of property with a logistic regression model. Results Couples with husbands who were economically advantaged when compared with their wives (i.e., the husband was older, more educated, or employed with a nonemployed wife) were more likely to choose the community of property when compared with couples with similar resources (both spouses were employed, of similar age or educational attainment); conversely, couples with economically advantaged wives were more likely to choose the separation of property. Conclusion Economically advantaged women seem to be “undoing gender” by protecting their economic resources via the separation of property.

Setting Social Status in Couples and Partners' Budgetary Discretion in Central European Countries

“…Another source is the European Social Survey carried out on small samples [Vitali and Arpino 2016]. In addition to such general surveys, marriage registers are also used [Fraboni and Vitali 2019].…”

Who Opts Out? The Customisation of Marriage in the German Matrimonial Property Regime

“…Building on a wide rational choice perspective, sociological literature on the individualisation of marriage, and empirical evidence regarding changes in matrimonial property regimes from other European countries (e.g. Fraboni & Vitali, 2019 ; Frémeaux & Leturcq, 2018 ), our research interest is in understanding the choice of matrimonial property regimes in Germany. We follow a within-couple perspective to address three research questions: (1) How prevalent are marital contracts in Germany?…”

“…Compared with other recent German survey 1 and international register data (e.g. for Italy, see Fraboni & Vitali, 2019 ), pairfam provides unique data to examine the predictors of signing a marital contract, further allowing to differentiate between contract types. The differentiation helps us to better understand the two distinct functions of marital contracts, which might either promote spouses’ economic independence or aim at integrating economic resources—both with crucial consequences for the economic well-being of women and men during and after marriage.…”

“…These regimes intend to protect the economically weaker spouse by considering most assets as joint. For female-breadwinner couples, the separation of property might be considered more beneficial because wives’ need for economic protection from the husband is reduced (Fraboni & Vitali, 2019 ). For other couple types, however, the economic benefits of a modification regulating the division of jointly accrued gains in the case of divorce might be highest.…”

“…For the United States, the estimated share of couples with marital contracts varies between 5 to 10% (Mahar, 2003 ; Marston, 1997 ), with differences in the matrimonial property regimes between states. Italy is a special case with comprehensive marriage register data, including the entire population of marriages since 1995 (Fraboni & Vitali, 2019 ). The share of newlywed couples opting for the separation of property was around 67% in 2011 (Bayot & Voena, 2014 ).…”