What do bequests in married couples with a surviving spouse tell us about bequest motives?
利用美国代表性数据，首次系统考察已婚夫妇中首位配偶去世后对子女的实际遗赠分配，发现遗赠模式支持交换和进化心理学理论，而非利他或王朝模型，且不同资产类型（房产、遗产、人寿保险）的分配方式存在差异。
This paper studies the bequests that arise in married couples after the death of the first spouse. It provides the first systematic examination of these bequests using representative data from the United States on the actual (not intended or expected) bequests made to each of the couple’s children. I find that these bequests are divided among children very similarly to the bequests left by single individuals, which have been the near-exclusive focus of the literature. In both cases, I observe strong support for theories of bequests based on exchange and evolutionary psychology and no evidence for altruistic or dynastic models. Also novel to this paper, I document that different types of assets—residences, estates, and life insurance—exhibit different bequest patterns. While estates are typically equally divided, parents often divide life insurance and especially housing assets unequally, often leaving these assets to caregiving children. Selective disinheritance of certain children, particularly stepchildren, is common. • Bequests in married couples after the first spouse’s death are common and large. • Married and single parents divide bequests among their children similarly. • Bequests reflect exchange and evolutionary bequest motives. • Different types of assets are bequeathed differently. • Whereas estates are divided equally, insurance and housing are left unequally.