Marriage and the Allocation of Assets in Women's Defined Contribution Plans

Tansel Yilmazer, Angela C. Lyons

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to understand the effect of family decision-making on the investment decisions of married men and women. Using data from the Survey of Consumer Finances, we investigate how the spouse's relative control over financial resources in the household and the life-cycle stage affect the investment choices of married women and men. The results show that married women who have more control over the financial resources are less likely to invest their Defined Contribution Plans (DCPs) in risky assets. Also, women who are married to relatively older men are less likely to take on risk with their DCPs. There is little evidence that the wife's characteristics affect the investment decisions of married men.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)121-137
Number of pages17
JournalJournal of Family and Economic Issues
Volume31
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 2010

Keywords

  • Financial decision-making
  • Gender
  • Investment choice
  • Risk aversion

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Social Psychology
  • Economics and Econometrics

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