Family finances: A sociological study of the earning, managing, and spending of money in marital relationships

This qualitative study investigates the organization of family finances among a sample of married Canadian couples in order to explore the connections between money, power, and gender in marriage. Various aspects of family finances are investigated including earning, banking, the management of money, and spending. In-depth interviews were used to examine economic inequalities in marriage and the social meanings surrounding money.; The study draws on sociological and economic scholarship on money in marriage, specifically previous research on economic inequality in families. The analytical framework of the study incorporates several different theoretical perspectives, including sociological perspectives on the social meanings of money in intimate relationships, and Zelizer's (1989) concept of "special movies". The study also draws on sociological perspectives on gender and marriage, including Komter's (1989) theory of hidden power, and West and Zimmerman's (1987) conceptualization of "doing gender".; Consistent with grounded theory (Glaser and Strauss, 1967), the findings of the study draw attention to a type of domestic labour that has been largely overlooked in studies of household labour. The study explores the social processes whereby economic inequalities are produced in marital relationships and how the social meanings of money shape money relations in marriage. The relationship between women's economic resources and marital power dynamics are also examined. Directions for future research and implications for social policy in relation to various social and economic policies affecting families are addressed.