Divorce decisions, divorce laws and social norms

Victor Hiller and Magali Recoules ()
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Magali Recoules: Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne - Paris School of Economics, https://centredeconomiesorbonne.cnrs.fr

Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne from Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne

Abstract: This article focuses on the three way relationship between change in divorce law, evolution of divorce rate and evolution of the cultural acceptance of divorce. We consider a heterogeneous population in which individuals differ in terms of the subjective loss they suffer when divorced, this loss being associated with stigmatizing social norms. The proportion of each type of individual evolves endogenously through a cultural transmission process. Divorce law is chosen by majority voting between two alternatives: mutual consent and unilateral divorce. In this framework, evolutions of divorce rate and divorce law may be jointly affected by the cultural dynamics within the society. In particular, we are able to reproduce the fact that divorce rate often raises before a legislation change. Indeed, the shift from consensual to unilateral divorce has an accelerating effect on the increase in divorce rate but is not the driving force behind this evolution

Keywords: Marriage and divorce; divorce legislation; cultural evolution; social norms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J12 K10 Z10 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 26 pages
Date: 2010-04
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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http://mse.univ-paris1.fr/pub/mse/CES2010/10046.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
Working Paper: Divorce decisions, divorce laws and social norms (2010)
Working Paper: Divorce decisions, divorce laws and social norms (2010)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:mse:cesdoc:10046

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