Beyond the Wage Premium: Fatherhood and Asset Accumulation

This study examines the association between becoming a father and men's asset accumulation trajectories. It is the first study to include nonmarried fathers in addition to married fathers. We used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 cohort (the 1979 and 1985-2000 wave) and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Research in human development 2010-05, Vol.7 (2), p.140-158
Main Authors: Dew, Jeffrey, Eggebeen, David J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Correlation analysis
Fathers
Marriage
Men
Studies
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Summary:This study examines the association between becoming a father and men's asset accumulation trajectories. It is the first study to include nonmarried fathers in addition to married fathers. We used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, 1979 cohort (the 1979 and 1985-2000 wave) and multilevel modeling techniques to examine the research questions. Findings revealed that the association between fatherhood and men's total asset accumulation depended on marriage. Upon becoming fathers, married men increased their rates of asset accumulation. By way of contrast, unmarried men who became fathers had a decline in their rate of asset accumulation, on average. Race also moderated the association between fatherhood and asset accumulation.
ISSN:1542-7609
1542-7617
DOI:10.1080/15427609.2010.481541