You can't be happier than your wife. Happiness gaps and divorce

Cahit Guven (), Claudia Senik () and Holger Stichnoth
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Claudia Senik: PSE - Paris-Jourdan Sciences Economiques - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - INRA - Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, PSE - Paris School of Economics - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - ENS-PSL - École normale supérieure - Paris - PSL - Université Paris Sciences et Lettres - EHESS - École des hautes études en sciences sociales - ENPC - École nationale des ponts et chaussées - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - INRAE - Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement, UP4 - Université Paris-Sorbonne

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Abstract: Based on three large panel surveys, this paper shows that happiness gaps between spouses are a good predictor of future divorce. The effect of happiness gaps is asymmetric: couples are more likely to break-up when the woman is the less happy partner. De facto, divorces appear to be initiated predominantly by women who are less happy than their husband. This asymmetry suggests that the effect of happiness gaps is grounded on motives of relative deprivation (i.e. comparisons of happiness between spouses) rather than on a preference for equal happiness.

Keywords: Happiness; Divorce; Comparisons; Panel; Households; Marriage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012-04
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (38)

Published in Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2012, 82 (1), pp.110-130. ⟨10.1016/j.jebo.2012.01.003⟩

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Related works:
Journal Article: You can’t be happier than your wife. Happiness gaps and divorce (2012)
Working Paper: You can't be happier than your wife. Happiness gaps and divorce (2012)
Working Paper: You can't be happier than your wife. Happiness Gaps and Divorce (2011)
Working Paper: You can't be happier than your wife. Happiness Gaps and Divorce (2011)
Working Paper: You Can't Be Happier Than Your Wife: Happiness Gaps and Divorce (2010)
Working Paper: You can't be happier than your wife: happiness gaps and divorce (2010)
Working Paper: You can't be happier than your wife. Happiness gaps and divorce (2009)
Working Paper: You Can't Be Happier than Your Wife: Happiness Gaps and Divorce (2009)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:halshs-00754595

DOI: 10.1016/j.jebo.2012.01.003

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