Yours, Mine, and Ours: Do Divorce Laws Affect the Intertemporal Behavior of Married Couples?

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Voena, Alessandra
• 署名单位: University of Chicago; National Bureau of Economic Research
• 刊物名称: AMERICAN ECONOMIC REVIEW
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0002-8282
• DOI: 10.1257/aer.20120234
• 发表日期: 2015
• 页码: 2295-2332
• 关键词: consumption inequality; life-cycle; LABOR; RISK; EMPLOYMENT; MARKET; rates; work

摘要

This paper examines how divorce laws affect couples' intertemporal choices and well-being. Exploiting panel variation in US laws, I estimate the parameters of a model of household decision-making. Household survey data indicate that the introduction of unilateral divorce in states that imposed an equal division of property is associated with higher household savings and lower female employment, implying a distortion in household assets accumulation and a transfer toward wives whose share in household resources is smaller than the one of their husband. When spouses share consumption equally, separate property or prenuptial agreements can reduce distortions and increase equity. (JEL D13, D14, D91, J12, J16, K36)