In the presence of asymmetric information, allocations can only be coordinated to the extent that each can be monitored, and household decision-making may not be fully cooperative. Because this information problem is particularly acute when individuals are not co-resident, I examine households...

This study shows that entering into a cohabiting partnership leads to long lasting earnings losses for women, even after accounting for the impact of child penalties. While 2 ⁄3 of the total effect of cohabitation is due to partnered women having higher fertility than unpartnered women, an...

In this paper we discuss the importance of families for understanding economic inequality. Family structure can in principle be an amplifier or mitigator of economic inequality. We describe three channels on how families shape economic inequality. First, how people match to form families matters...