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 of Labor Economics (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: divorce; marriage; technological progress; household production; hours worked; household size (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: E13 J12 J22 O11 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 68 pages
Date: 2008-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-lab and nep-mac
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (32)

Published - published in: Acemoglu, D. et al. (eds.): NBER Macroeconomics Annual 2008, NBER, Cambridge, MA , 2009, 231-276

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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 (2009)
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 (2007)
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 (2004)
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