Living Arrangements and the Economic Well-being of Single Parents: A Cross-national Comparison

We extend recent research on relationships between living arrangements and the economic well-being of single-parent families in the U.S. by using comparable data from five countries and by examining measures of wealth in addition to income. Preliminary tabulations of harmonized data from the Cross-National Equivalent File (CNEF) demonstrate marked cross-national differences in the living arrangements of unpartnered parents, with lone-parent families relatively common in Germany and coresidence with parents most common in Korea. There are also clear differences in the economic benefits that single parents derive from coresidence with parents, which are most pronounced in Korea and relatively limited in the U.S. Findings from this project will have implications for understanding the ways in which demographic change and living arrangements contribute to differences in levels and trends in income and wealth accumulation across countries and in comparison to the United States.