Marriage, Cohabitation, and Charitable Giving

I examine charitable giving behaviors by married and permanently cohabiting couples. Looking first at differences between married, cohabiting, and single households, I find that married couples are more likely to give and to give more than other groups, especially to religious organizations. I then look at specific couples over time, examining particularly those who transition from cohabitation to marriage, and find that though couples who will eventually get married are predisposed to giving even before their marriage, their giving increases after marriage in a way not explained by changes in income or other relevant independent variables. This change is explained in large part by differences in households' income elasticities of giving across couple groups and over time. I also check the responsiveness of permanently cohabiting couples' giving to changes in the tax-price of both household members, and show that their giving responds only to changes in the higher earner's marginal tax rate. The results suggest a connection between the commitment mechanism of marriage and investment in the household public good of charitable giving.