Laura Ravazzini

Inequality and Wealth: Comparing the Gender Wealth Gap in Switzerland and Australia

ABSTRACT Although the gender gap in incomes has been extensively researched, scant attention has been paid to the gender wealth gap. This paper compares the gender wealth gap in Australia with that of Switzerland. Using data from the 2010 Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) and the 2012 Swiss Household Panel (SHP), this study attributes the gender wealth gap to differences in permanent income and education. Furthermore, the gender wealth gap is much larger in Switzerland than in Australia. The study links this finding to the type of wealth held by individuals in these two countries. Differences in wealth accumulation among women in Switzerland and Australia are likely to be linked to the housing market and to family policies for (single) mothers.

Do Opposites Attract? Educational Assortative Mating and Dynamics of Wage Homogamy in Switzerland, 1992–2014

Abstract This paper addresses homogamy and assortative mating in Switzerland. The empirical analysis monitors trends for education and hourly wages using the Swiss Labour Force Survey and the Swiss Household Panel. The analysis disentangles the effects of educational expansion from mating patterns and incorporates not only couples, but also singles. Results show an increasing level of assortative mating both for education and for wages. For wage homogamy, selection is more important than adaptation.

Wealth, Savings and Children Among Swiss, German and Australian Families

Although sociologists pay increasing attention to wealth, we know very little about the relationship between children and wealth accumulation. Using the information on wealth from panel surveys (the Swiss Household Panel, the Household of Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia and the German Socio-Economic Panel), we study families’ wealth accumulation in different social and political settings. This contribution tests how children affect the propensity to save and net worth. It also addresses anticipation effects when individuals plan to have a child. The results from fixed effects models show that dependent children reduce the probability to save, whereas planning for a child increases the probability to save. To test whether lower or higher expenditure is responsible for lower saving probability, we estimate models with earned income and labour supply as mediator variables. Small children are found to reduce saving mostly through income losses, and older children reduce saving through higher expenditures. In the long run, children have moderate negative consequences on wealth accumulation in all countries (6714 CHF per grown-up child in Switzerland, 15,462 AU

The Impact of Female Labour Force Participation on Household Income Inequality in Switzerland

in Australia, and 619 EUR in Germany).

Which Inequality Makes People Dissatisfied with Their Lives? Evidence of the Link Between Life Satisfaction and Inequalities

Abstract This contribution investigates the link between female labour force participation and household income inequality using data from the Swiss Household Panel (2000-2014). Through index decomposition analyses, we find that female labour force participation has slightly attenuated household income inequality over time. Women’s entry into the labour market, higher work percentages within part-time work - but not the shift from part-time to full-time work - and the weak correlation in partner’s earnings have contributed to this effect.

Sociological Perspectives on Poverty

This paper aims at establishing a clear link between different types of inequality and life satisfaction in Europe. Indices of income inequality and of inequality of opportunity are proposed to identify the relationship with life satisfaction using six waves of the European Social Survey (ESS). In addition, reference groups based on similarly old and educated individuals are created to account for differences in relative income. Results show that income inequality, high levels of inequality of opportunity and negative relative socioeconomic status reduce peoples life satisfaction in Europe. Moreover, variations in inequality of opportunity explain more than variations in income inequality. Our main results suggest that all socioeconomic groups are dissatisfied with income inequality, whereas primarily low socioeconomic groups worry about inequality of opportunity. We interpret our results advancing the hypothesis that high socioeconomic groups might fear to lose their advantaged position. This fear will then increase with income inequality. In contrast, limited social mobility reduces the satisfaction of disadvantaged groups, whereas it generates a lower risk of falling down for those with good circumstances and consequently no effects on their subjective well-being.