Income pooling within families

This paper analyses the phenomenon of income-pooling by applying the Danish household expenditure survey, merged with authoritative register information. Responses to additional questions on income sharing among 1696 couples also allows us to analyses whether the intra-household distribution of resources reflects individual preferences, the distribution of power, and pre-marital experiences. The analyses show that most Danish households use some type of income pooling and that the likelihood of income pooling varies considerably according to individual characteristics (age, education, occupation, past partners, upbringing) and household characteristics (household income, duration of marriage, location of residence and the existence of public goods, including children). However, when all variables are evaluated in a common model, only the duration of marriage and the existence of children clearly affect the likelihood of income pooling.