Cohabitation in Latin America: a comparative perspective

The coexistence of marriage and cohabitation is an intriguing feature of Latin American nuptiality. Historically common among lower social classes in Central America and the Caribbean, the incidence of cohabitation is also increasing among higher educated groups and southern Latin American countries. This study uses census and survey data to investigate the characteristics of Latin American cohabitation.First, the countries’ socioeconomic characteristics, related to the incidence of cohabitation among different social classes, are described. Cohabitation among the lowest educated is related to low socioeconomic development, high social and gender inequality, and traditional values. Cohabitation among the highest educated is related to high socioeconomic development and low social and gender inequality. Next, individuals’ socioeconomic characteristics linked to cohabitation in Brazil are shown. Cohabitation is mostly found among lower social classes, younger, less religious people, and childless couples from higher social classes. This suggests the existence of different types of cohabitation in Latin America, which are characterized by relationship context at its outset and childbearing outcomes. Three cohabitation types are found. The first type is labeled traditional and groups women of high fertility, who cohabitate and have their first child very young. The remaining two types of cohabitation are labeled innovative and blended. Women living in these modern cohabitations move in together with their partners during early adulthood and have their first child later in life. Blended cohabitants experience pre-cohabitation pregnancy, while innovative cohabitants do not. Innovative cohabitants have the lowest fertility. Traditional cohabitants are the youngest and lowest educated, while blended and innovative cohabitants are older and higher educated.Hereafter, gender symmetry and decision making power in different cohabitation types is compared to marriage. In comparison to marriage, men in traditional cohabitation are more educated and older than women. They also have the highest decision making power. In innovative and blended cohabitations men are more educated than women and they have a similar age or are younger than women. Decisions are mostly made by men in the innovative cohabitation and by women in the blended one. Regional differences between cohabitation and marriage are also explored. Compared to marriage, traditional cohabitation is less common among whites and Catholics and is found among people who perceive their socioeconomic status as bad. Blended cohabitations are found among Catholics and people who also perceive their socioeconomic status as bad. Less regional differences are related to the innovative cohabitation.This study shows that historical cohabitation patterns among disadvantaged social and ethnic groups persist. However, education and economic independence is increasing women’s negotiation power and freedom, resulting in more symmetric gender relations. It suggests that different types of cohabitation have distinct meanings for different social groups. While traditional cohabitation can be a strategy to cope with poverty related issues, innovative cohabitation seems to be a temporary arrangement and the blended, a definitive one. The main policy implication of this study is that legal protections should not be linked to union type. Further, social inclusion of traditional cohabitants and negative outcomes of modern cohabitation (e.g. instability, lower fertility than desired) also need policy attention.status: publishe