Do Divorcing Couples Become Happier By Breaking Up?

Jonathan Gardner () and Andrew Oswald
Additional contact information
Jonathan Gardner: Watson Wyatt LLP

No 1788, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: Divorce is a leap in the dark. This paper investigates whether people who split up actually become happier. Using the British Household Panel Survey, we are able to observe an individual's level of psychological wellbeing in the years before and after divorce. Our results show that divorcing couples reap psychological gains from the dissolution of their marriages. Men and women benefit equally. The paper also studies the effects of bereavement, of having dependent children, and of remarriage. We measure wellbeing using GHQ and life-satisfaction scores.

Keywords: divorce; happiness; GHQ; longitudinal data; life satisfaction (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I3 J12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 40 pages
Date: 2005-09
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (10)

Published - published in: Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A, (Statistics in Society), 2006, 169 (2), 319-336

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Related works:
Journal Article: Do divorcing couples become happier by breaking up? (2006)
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