A cohabitation wealth premium for women and men: considering the regulatory framework and normative acceptance in France and Germany

Abstract We examine the association between cohabitation and women’s and men’s wealth, closely considering the distinct regulatory and normative contexts in France and Eastern and Western Germany. Using longitudinal data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study (2002–2017) and the French wealth survey Histoire de Vie et Patrimoine (2014/15-2020/21), we apply fixed-effects regression models to examine potential wealth advantages associated with cohabitation, including the relevance of gender and contextual differences. We find that cohabitation is positively associated with women’s and men’s wealth across contexts, without meaningful gender differences. For France, entering a Pacs (i.e. registered cohabitation) is associated with an additional premium beyond the (unregistered) cohabitation premium—though these effects may not be causal. Overall, our results suggest that the regulatory treatment of cohabitation plays a more significant role in shaping the wealth accumulation of cohabiting women and men than normative acceptance, while gender has little impact on the associated benefits.