biostudies-literatureUnknown38(4)Vitali APrevious studies documented the existence of a 'cohabitation-marriage gap' in resource pooling among opposite-sex partners, with cohabiters being more likely to separate income and wealth than married individuals. Surprisingly, despite many non-marital cohabitations transform into marriages, we know little about income and wealth pooling of 'spousal cohabiters', i.e. spouses who transition to marriage after experiencing a period of non-marital cohabitation. The comparison between 'spousal cohabiters' and directly married spouses is particularly interesting because it offers a litmus test of theories of marriage in relation to how and why economic resources are differently distributed within married vs. cohabiting couples. This paper compares directly married couples and 'spousal cohabitersEuropean journal of population = Revue europeenne de demographie721-754https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC9550889biostudies-literaturePooling of Wealth in Marriage: The Role of Premarital Cohabitation.PMC9550889Vitali AFraboni RfalsePooling of Wealth in Marriage: The Role of Premarital Cohabitation.Previous studies documented the existence of a 'cohabitation-marriage gap' in resource pooling among opposite-sex partners, with cohabiters being more likely to separate income and wealth than married individuals. Surprisingly, despite many non-marital cohabitations transform into marriages, we know little about income and wealth pooling of 'spousal cohabiters', i.e. spouses who transition to marriage after experiencing a period of non-marital cohabitation. The comparison between 'spousal cohabiters' and directly married spouses is particularly interesting because it offers a litmus test of theories of marriage in relation to how and why economic resources are differently distributed within married vs. cohabiting couples. This paper compares directly married couples and 'spousal cohabiters2022-01-01T00:00:00Z2022 Oct2025-04-19T10:41:00.007Z2025-02-19T01:02:07.379ZS-EPMC95508893623729610.1007/s10680-022-09627-2