Marriage and cohabitation: Qualitative differences in partnership arrangements

Abstract

The article investigates the differences between marriage and non-marital cohabitation. The main perspective stems from the theory of the social exchange. The author concentrates on the narrow question of financial transfers between partners and presents the hypothesis that cohabitation should represent a lesser bond union because it does not protect investments into partnerships, and it should therefore be more egalitarian. However, this hypothesis is not confirmed by the data. Even though cohabitation is indeed a departure from the traditional family pattern, it is not a departure in the direction of greater egalitarianism but rather in the direction of a female breadwinner. The social exchange theory would predict that the shift towards the female breadwinner should be compensated by the greater participation of men in the household chores. This expectation is confirmed by the data.