Partners’ Relative Income and the Risk of Union Dissolution in Two Institutional Contexts

Abstract

Abstract This article investigates the link between union stability and women’s contribution to the family income in married and cohabiting couples. Using a data set linking survey data to information from respondents’ annual tax records over a period of nearly 30 years, the study explores the changes over time and the role of institutional context by comparing Quebec and Anglophone Canada. The analysis showed that the risk of dissolution was lowest when men’s and women’s incomes were similar. The U-shaped pattern held for marriage and cohabitation, and for both regions. If the couple deviated from the equality pattern, women’s greater income constituted a more destabilizing factor than men’s greater income. Overall, the observed U-shaped link between relative income and union instability did not change over the study period of 30 years.