Mathis Sansu

Research field(s)

Economics / sociology of the family
Economics of inequalities

Ongoing thesis:
Household wealth structures and giving behaviors in a life course approach

Supervision: Marion Leturcq (INED), Nicolas Frémeaux (LERN, Rouen Normandie University)

Thesis summary: In recent decades, inter vivos gifts have become an increasingly important part of wealth transfers. Unlike inheritances, gifts are made during the life course and are the result of chosen bahaviors at a given moment. My work sheds light on the economic, social and demographic mechanisms that may explain the making of gifts. In addition to the position of donor and receiver households in the distribution of wealth, the integration of intra-household wealth structures should enlighten the determinants and motives behind these transfers. Using data from wealth surveys, I will study gifts at different points in the life course of the individuals. I will study savings made for minor children, but also gifts made to adult children, analyzing how the latter's biographical events - divorce, birth, etc. - can exert differentiated influences. Global shocks, such as the COVID-19 crisis, will also be integrated into the analysis to assess the heterogeneity of gift behaviors in response to these shocks.