Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/177112 
Year of Publication: 
2018
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 11308
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
We use exogenously determined, long-distance relocations of U.S. Army soldiers to investigate the impact of moving on marriage. We find that marriage rates increase sharply around the time of a move in an event study analysis. Reduced form exposure analysis reveals that an additional move over a five year period increases the likelihood of marriage by 14 percent. Moves increase childbearing by a similar magnitude, suggesting that marriages induced by a move are formed with long-term intentions. These findings are consistent with a model where the marriage decision is costly and relocation lowers the costs to making this decision. Our results have implications for understanding how people make major life decisions such as marriage, as well as the cost of migration.
Subjects: 
marriage
migration
relocation
decision-making costs
JEL: 
J12
J61
Document Type: 
Working Paper

Files in This Item:
File
Size
741.76 kB





Items in EconStor are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.