Typically, poverty risk is assessed at the household level, neglecting within-couple income inequality and the role of individual characteristics in vulnerability to income poverty. This paper uses SOEP data and a quasi-experimental event study design to investigate poverty dynamics within couples over an 8-year period around the first birth. It follows partnered women (N=1,174) and men (N=1,137) who had their first child between 1992 and 2013, from two years before the transition to parenthood until the first child turned six. During this phase, when income disparities between partners are prominent, couples may pool resources, reducing the immediate poverty risk for the lower-earning partner. However, low personal income can still leave individuals vulnerable and exposed to social risks, particularly women. By simultaneously evaluating household and individual poverty risks, i.e. with/out access to partner income, the paper enhances our understanding of economic inequality within couples and the link between parenthood and poverty risk.
Themen: Familie , Gender , Ungleichheit