Economic well-being and life satisfaction by the comparison of couple's income

부부의 소득수준 비교에 따른 가계경제복지 및 삶 만족

  • Huh, Kyung-Ok (Dept. of Family Culture and Consumer Science, Sungshin Women's University)
  • 허경옥 (성신여자대학교 가족문화소비자학과)
  • Published : 2004.06.30

Abstract

This study categorized the households into four by the comparison of wives' and husbands' earned income, such as one with higher wives' income than husbands' in dual-earner households, with higher wives' income than husbands' in household with unemployed husbands, with lower wives' income than husbands' in dual-earner households, and with lower wives' income than husbands' in household with unemployed wives. This study compared and analyzed the objective and subjective economic well-being, and overall satisfaction of life in those households. Major results are below. First, the amount of expenditures, saving, debt were low in one-earner household with employed husbands, but average propensity to expenditure was high in those households. The amount of saving was low in one-earner households with unemployed husbands, but the average propensity to expenditure and debt were high, resulting in the low status of economic well-being. The amount of saving and monetary assets were high, but average propensity to expenditure and debt were low in households in which wives had higher income than husbands, resulting in the high status of economic well-being. Second, husbands' satisfaction for the level of family income was not different among four groups of households. Wives's satisfaction for those was the lowest when wives' income was higher than husbands', but the highest in households with unemployed wives. Wives' and husbands' expectations for the future economic well-being of the households were negative in households with unemployed husbands. On the other hand, the level of satisfaction of wives and husbands for their life was not different among four groups of households. Finally, four groups of households were discriminated by age of husbands, number of children, debt, and wives' expectation for the future economic well-being.

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