Different strokes for different folks? Intra-household sharing and well-being

Women’s economic independence is considered to be one of modern society’s greatest achievements. With it has come the perception that the greatest beneficiaries in this transition have been women with partners, in particular married women, who have more personal choice than ever before in whether to work or not. Yet, this achievement has been accompanied by puzzling scientific evidence indicating that women’s well-being over the last decades has declined both in absolute terms and relative to men. This may be due to the many burdens and high personal expectations and pressures that modern women face. Similarly, men have also been found to be in an imbalanced situation in which they are potentially losing their role as major provider or breadwinner while at the same time not assuming greater responsibility for household work. This book focuses on financial well-being as a relevant dimension of individual welfare and examines whether and to what extent it can be argued that the economic independence of women—as reflected by the amount of income in their possession—contributes positively to their well-being and that of their partners. Does it make a difference for a woman whether she or her partner ‘owns’ money? Are men satisfied not to bear the main burden of providing for the family? If so, under what conditions? What forms of women’s monetary contributions matter the most and the least for women and men? The topic is examined from various perspectives, thereby contributing to the theoretical discussion while also providing a test of theory for five European countries (Denmark, the UK, France, Ireland and Italy).