Samen of apart bankieren? Een onderzoek naar het geldbeheer van gehuwd en ongehuwd samenwonende paren

Samenvatting

This article focuses on the question of how members of households formally control their money. We measure formal control as the ownership of bank accounts. Using data from a 1994 telephone survey among 1035 Dutch households, we find that couples vary in the degree to which they share the ownership of bank accounts. Whereas 61% of the married couples own all bank accounts jointly, only 11 % of the cohabiting couples choose to do so. Building on prior applications of the transaction cost approach to households, we model the couple's choice for joint or separate banking as a function of (a) the transaction costs, (b) the risks of opportunistic behavior, (c) external risks related to third parties, and (d) progressive norms and values. The analyses show that our model offers a reasonable explanation of the degree to which couples share formal ownership of money. Especially the amount of relationship specific investments, which can be regarded as an incentive to refrain from behaving opportunistically, appears to be an important factor in explaining the degree of joint formal control over finances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]; Copyright of Mens en Maatschappij is the property of Amsterdam University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)