Wealth of children from single-parent families

Low levels and high inequality in Germany

Bibliographic Data

ID12255663
AuthorsP M Lersch (0000-0003-3863-8301, Department of Social Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany; DIW Berlin, Berlin, Germany, corresponding author), Markus M Grabka (0000-0003-2633-065X, DIW Berlin, Berlin, Germany), Kilian Russ (Department of Social Sciences, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany), Carsten Schröder (0000-0002-6406-595X, DIW Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Free University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany)
Year2021
Volume31
Issue5
Pages565-579
Publication date2021-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of European Social Policy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0958-9287 • E-ISSN: 1461-7269
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/09589287211040412
OpenAlexW4200212725
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited17

Families’ economic wealth is a resource that can provide children with crucial advantages early in their lives. Prior research identified substantial variation of wealth levels between different family types with children from single-parent families being most disadvantaged. The causes of this disadvantage, how much the disadvantage varies between children and how the non-resident parents’ wealth may potentially reduce the disadvantage remain unclear. To address these research gaps, we use data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (2002–17) to examine the level of and inequality in wealth for children from single-parent families using recentred influence function regression and decomposition analysis. We replicate earlier findings of a large wealth disadvantage for children in single-parent families. We find that the wealth disadvantage can be mainly explained with compositional differences in household income and employment characteristics. Beyond level differences, inequality between children from single-parent families is higher than for other family types and this inequality can only partly be explained by observed demographic and socio-economic characteristics. When considering the wealth of non-resident parents, the wealth disadvantage of children in single-parent families is reduced but remains substantial. JEL-codes: D31, D1, J1

Demographic economics · Disadvantage · Disadvantaged · Economic growth · Economic inequality · Economics · Geography · German · Inequality · Labour economics · Political science · Single parent · Intergenerational and Educational Inequality Studies · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Social Policy and Reform Studies