Job displacement, disability, and divorce

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Charles, KK; Stephens, M
• 署名单位: University of Michigan System; University of Michigan; National Bureau of Economic Research; Carnegie Mellon University
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF LABOR ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0734-306X
• DOI: 10.1086/381258
• 发表日期: 2004
• 页码: 489-522
• 关键词: marriage; losses; HEALTH

摘要

Earnings shocks should affect divorce probability by changing a couple's expected gains from marriage. We find that the divorce hazard rises after a spouse's job displacement but does not change after a spousal disability. This difference casts doubt on a purely pecuniary motivation for divorce following earnings shocks, since both types of shocks exhibit similar long-run economic consequences. Furthermore, the increase in divorce is found only for layoffs and not for plant closings, suggesting that information conveyed about a partner's noneconomic suitability as a mate due to a job loss may be more important than financial losses in precipitating divorce.