Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/272376 
Year of Publication: 
2022
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 15749
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
There is evidence that the introduction of unilateral divorce legislation (UDL) starting in the late 1960s increased US divorce rates. We ask whether making divorce easier affected the educational structure of marriage. Based on marriage and divorce certificate data covering 1970-1988, we provide new evidence on the evolution of the educational structure of marriage inflows (newlyweds) and outflows (divorces), and estimate UDL difference-in-differences effects on both flows. While UDL did not contribute to rising homogamy (the tendency towards married partners having the same level of education), it did affect the educational structure of marriage: it made generally unstable hypogamous couples (women marrying less educated partners) less likely to divorce, and it made homogamous couples more stable than hypergamous ones (women marrying more educated partners).
Subjects: 
homogamy
unilateral divorce
marriage
JEL: 
J12
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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