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ISSUES: Marriage
Chapter 1: Marriage
Europe’s marriage gap between rich and
poor
By Harry Benson, Marriage Foundation and Spencer James, Brigham Young University
A
cross Europe, couples who
don’t marry are far more likely
to split up than those who do,
even after controls for age, education,
religion,
partner
and
parental
divorce, and the presence of children
(Dronkers, 2015).
The consequences of instability are
far reaching for both adult and child
outcomes. UK data, for example,
shows that lone parents are seven
times more likely than couple parents
to rely on state benefits, and the
children of lone parents are twice
as likely to have problems with their
health or at school (Maplethorpe et
al, 2010).
Recent research from Marriage
Foundation has also showed that
marriage is increasingly the preserve
of the rich. Among UK parents with
children under five, 87% of those in
the top income quintile were married
compared to 24% in the bottom
quintile (Benson & MacKay, 2015).
For this briefing note, we analysed
data from the seventh round of the
European Social Survey 2014, looking
at the proportion of all parents with
dependent children, and all adults,
who were married.
Among parents and adults alike, a
marriage gap exists between rich and
poor throughout Europe. The same
pattern found previously in the UK,
by Benson & MacKay, was replicated
in every one of the 20 European
countries examined.
Poor parents were much less
likely to be married than their rich
counterparts. In some countries,
marriage rates are higher still in the
fourth income quintile.
This analysis shows that the trend
away from marriage – and the relative
stability that marriage provides –
has barely affected the rich, but is
strongly linked to lower income levels
and, thus, the well being of adults,
children, and the communities in
which they reside.
The marriage gap
Our newdata shows for thefirst time that
the pattern of marriage among parents
and all adults remains remarkably similar
across Europe.
On average, 82% of parents in the
highest income quintile are married
compared to 42% of parents in the
lowest income quintile.
Of the twenty countries examined –
Spain, Germany, UK, France and Sweden
– Sweden is unusual as the only country
where marriage rates are actually lowest
among parents in the second quintile.
In six of the twenty countries – Belgium,
Israel, Lithuania, Norway, Slovenia, and
Switzerland – the highest marriage
rates were found in the fourth quintile.
However, across all 20 countries,
marriage rates among rich parents
were consistently higher than among
poor parents.
Dividing countries into regions –
Mediterranean, Scandinavia, Northern
Europe, Eastern Europe – offers no
distinctly regional characteristic of the
marriage gap.
There appears to be as much variation
within regions as between them.
The highest marriage gap overall is
found in Denmark, where 81% of the
richest parents are married, 3.9 times
the level of 26% among the poorest
parents.
Czech Republic comes a close second
with a gap of 3.8 times between the
99% of rich parents and the 26% of poor
parents who are married.
The marriage gap in Britain sits at 2.1
times, just above the European average
of 1.9 times, where 84% of rich parents
are married compared to 44% of poor
parents.
The marriage gap is lowest in Slovenia,
where the difference between rich and
poor is 19% or 1.4 times, and Portugal,
where the gap is 23% or also 1.4 times.
August 2016
Ö
Ö
The above information is reprinted
with kind permission fromMarriage
Foundation. Please visit www.
marriagefoundation.org.uk
for
further information.
© Marriage Foundation 2017
