The U.S. Divorce Rate: The 1960s Surge Versus Its Long-Run Determinants

John Nunley () and Joachim Zietz

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: This study investigates the determinants of the U.S. divorce rate from 1929 to 2006, with particular emphasis on explaining its surge in the mid-1960s. The main finding is that the divorce rate and female labor-force participation, or equivalently female participation in higher education, are endogenous variables that are linked by a negative, long-run relationship. The availability of oral contraception shifted this negative relationship to a new, higher level of divorce rates during the late-1960s and early-1970s. The Vietnam War also contributed to the rise in the divorce rate at that time. The results are very robust to different estimation methodologies.

Keywords: divorce rate; female labor-force participation; female participation in higher education; oral contraceptives; unilateral divorce laws; Vietnam War (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J10 J11 J12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008-08, Revised 2008-12
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pra:mprapa:16317

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