Six out of ten couples cannot agree on two simple facts about their relationship: one, how
many years they had been together; and two, whether they share everything or if one
person controls all the money.
A new study by Dr Alistair Munro and Professor Ian Bateman, published in the Economic
Journal, finds that:
• Men are twice as likely as women to say that they manage their finances jointly.
• Men and women are equally likely to overstate when asked how many years they
had been together.
• Unmarried couples are almost twice as likely to give matching answers, compared with
their married counterparts, only a third of whom agree with each other about their
time together and their financial arrangements.
The research used cash prizes to see how married and unmarried couples handle
dilemmas about money. The researchers used a diverse sample of 152 people, ranging in
age from 22 to 70.
Some couples had been together for more than 40 years while others were newlyweds or
had lived together for only twelve months. The participants included headteachers and
secretaries, farmers and computer scientists, bricklayers, home-makers and pensioners.
At the start of the experiment, everyone was separated from their partners and faced
choices involving financial risks alone (one aim of which was to see how selfish people
are). Later on, the couple had to make their choices together.
Each person had to choose between getting £20 for themselves or a gamble in which their
partner had a 60% chance of winning £40. To help focus their attention, at the end of the
one-hour experiment, one of each couple’s choices was turned into reality, leaving them
with anything from nothing to £80.
The researchers found that:
• On the whole, the individuals were generous: a pound to their partner was just as
important as a pound to themselves. But one in ten individuals preferred to have the
money in their own pocket.
• Three quarters of the participants were inclined to gamble in dilemmas when it was their
partner’s money that was at stake. But they played safer when it came to their own
prize money.
• Over half the couples turned down gambles that separately each partner had accepted,
going instead for the safer alternative. Possibly, couples were much more cautious
because each partner wanted to avoid the blame if they pushed for the risky option
and the couple came away from the experiment empty-handed.
• In a section of the experiment reminiscent of the game show ‘Mr and Mrs’, everyone
was asked to predict the choices made by their partners. On average, participants
were only able to get six out of ten questions right and no one got ten out of ten.
• Participants tended to think their partners were more selfish than they actually were.
The experiment is part of a wider project to understand whether market research
companies can get accurate information about how families make choices if they just
interview one individual from a household on their own.
The economists have been following up with further research into how interviewing couples
together and separately reveals very different attitudes about healthier eating.
ENDS
Notes for Editors: ‘An Experiment in Risky Choice amongst Households’ by Alistair Munro
and Ian Bateman is published in the March 2005 Economic Journal. The research was
sponsored by the Economic and Social Research Council.
Alistair Munro is Head of the School of Economics at the University of East Anglia;
Ian Bateman is Professor of Environmental Economics at the University of East Anglia.
For Further Information: Alistair Munro on 01603-593404 (email: a.a.munro@uea.ac.uk);
or RES Media Consultant Romesh Vaitilingam on 0117-983-9770 or 07768-661095 (email:
romesh@compuserve.com).