The Role of Relative Income in Determining Marital Satisfaction for Husband and Wife in China

The role of relative income has been greatly discussed in the studies of subjective well-being. However, it is rarely studied with couple’s relationship satisfaction. This study uses two waves of data from the China Family Panel Survey (N = 9,291 in the 2014 wave, and N = 6,844 in the 2018 wave) to examine the association between relative income status and couple’s marriage satisfaction. The multivariable logistic analyses were applied to test the hypotheses. Generally, we find that the relative income status compared with people out-household has an important role in explaining marital satisfaction for husband and wife. Such associations are both significant from family and individual perspectives, but heterogenous from a gender perspective.