Marriage and Divorce since World War II: Analyzing the Role of Technological Progress on the Formation of Households

Jeremy Greenwood () and Nezih Guner ()

No 3313, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)

Abstract: Since World War II there has been: (i) a rise in the fraction of time that married households allocate to market work, (ii) an increase in the rate of divorce, and (iii) a decline in the rate of marriage. It is argued here that labor-saving technological progress in the household sector can explain these facts. This makes it more feasible for singles to maintain their own home, and for married women to work. To address this question, a search model of marriage and divorce, which incorporates household production, is developed. An extension looks back at the prewar era.

Keywords: household size; household production; hours worked; divorce; marriage; technological progress (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E13 J12 J22 O11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab and nep-mac
Date: 2008-01
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Related works:
Chapter: Marriage and Divorce since World War II: Analyzing the Role of Technological Progress on the Formation of Households (2008)
Working Paper: Marriage and Divorce since World War II: Analyzing the Role of Technological Progress on the Formation of Households (2004)
Working Paper: Marriage and Divorce since World War II: Analyzing the Role of Technological Progress on the Formation of Households (2008)
Working Paper: Marriage and Divorce since World War II: Analyzing the Role of Technological Progress on the Formation of Households (2004)
Working Paper: Marriage and Divorce since World War II: Analyzing the Role of Technological Progress on the Formation of Households (2007)
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