Cohabiting and Married Couples Income Organization: Approaches in Sweden and the United States

Using 1994 International Social Survey Program (ISSP) data, we examine the effect that cohabitation versus marriage has on couplesʹ income organization approaches in Sweden and the United States, two legally and normatively different contexts. Previous research on this topic has focused almost exclusively on married couples, so our inclusion of both married and cohabiting couples helps fill a gap in the literature. The effects of ever having been divorced, socioeconomic homogamy, and traditional gender ideology also are explored. Type of relationship and ever having been divorced are the only variables that predict income organization approach in both countries, suggesting that relationship experiences are more important than socioeconomic or ideological factors.