Scientists at the University of British Columbia (UCB) state in a working paper that people who are married or in relationships tend to cope better with health shocks than those who are single. The work aimed at figuring out how people cope economically with disability and health problems, the team says. The new investigation was conducted by economists Giovanni Gallipoli and Laura Turner, PhysOrg reports. The paper is entitled “Household Responses to Individual Shocks: Disability and Labour Supply”.

The investigators turned to the Canadian Survey of Labor and Income Dynamics (SLID) for their information. It was determined that, in marriages, main earners (who are primary men) tend to compensate for the necessary costs associated with the secondary earners (usually the women). In return, the women tend to offer conditional time and care when the main earners are affected by illness or disabilities. Naturally, in some families, the roles are reversed, but the same correlations hold true.

Inside the marital contract, the same study reveals, the insurance that the secondary earner provides help the family go through tough periods of health problems and other disabilities more smoothly. This, in turn, contributes to maintaining the primary earner's (regardless if male or female) ability to return to generating his or her high income in the future. In other words, the person making less money tends to help the one earning more keep his or her potential for financial gain, Gallipoli reveals. Both he and Turner are members of the Canadian Labor Market and Skills Researcher Network.

The team also drew additional conclusions from their work. It was found that, in families where both earners were at low health risk, the marital contract tended to stay intact for longer. These families were a lot more stable, and encountered fewer difficulties in getting by than those in which one member was likely to get sick often. It was also found that, during periods of health risks, and towards the end of their careers, main earners tended to value marriage a lot more. This happens mostly because they are about to lose their privileged status in the relationship, the experts say.