 Assortative mating, marital stability and the role of business cycles in the United States from 1968 to 2011Nikita Jacob Journal of Applied Economics, 2024, vol. 27, issue 1, 2327909 Abstract: The strong negative correlation between divorce and a wide range of outcomes in terms of well-being, health, education and labour market performance has been well documented in the literature. Economic conditions have been found to affect marital stability. Shared gains from marriage also depend on spouses’ characteristics such as age, education, ethnicity and religious beliefs. This paper examines the relationship between these spousal characteristics and the probability of dissolution while taking into account business cycle fluctuations. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics 1968–2011 for the United States and employing a duration modelling strategy, findings reveal that differences in educational attainment and ethnicity between spouses increase the hazard of marital dissolution. However similarity in religious beliefs and ethnicity reduce the risk of divorce. A period of economic growth improves marital stability. However, ethnic differences are a significant predictor of marital division, even in times of economic prosperity. Date: 2024 Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:taf:recsxx:v:27:y:2024:i:1:p:2327909 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from DOI: 10.1080/15140326.2024.2327909 Access Statistics for this article Journal of Applied Economics is currently edited by Jorge M. Streb More articles in Journal of Applied Economics from Taylor & Francis Journals |
Is your work missing from RePEc? Here is how to contribute.
Questions or problems? Check the EconPapers FAQ or send mail to .
EconPapers is hosted by the
School of Business at Örebro University.