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How to Carve a Medical Degree: Human Capital Assets in Divorce Settlements

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  • Borenstein, Severin
  • Cournat, Paul N

Abstract

This paper examines effects of the legal rules for property division at divorce on investment in human capital during marriage. The authors show that current rules generally lead to suboptimal levels of investment and spousal support, or to inequitable distribution of the returns from such investment, or both. They propose a new rule that performs better than the existing rules on both efficiency and equity criteria and that requires no more information than the existing rules. Copyright 1989 by American Economic Association.

Suggested Citation

  • Borenstein, Severin & Cournat, Paul N, 1989. "How to Carve a Medical Degree: Human Capital Assets in Divorce Settlements," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(5), pages 992-1009, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:aea:aecrev:v:79:y:1989:i:5:p:992-1009
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    Cited by:

    1. Andrew E. Clark & Conchita D’Ambrosio & Anthony Lepinteur, 2023. "Marriage as insurance: job protection and job insecurity in France," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(4), pages 1157-1190, December.
    2. Henrekson, Magnus & Dreber, Anna, 2004. "Female Career Success: Institutions, Path Dependence and Psychology," SSE/EFI Working Paper Series in Economics and Finance 574, Stockholm School of Economics, revised 25 Jan 2007.
    3. Giovanni Di Bartolomeo & Martin Dufwenberg & Stefano Papa & Laura Razzolini, 2022. "Guilt Aversion: Eve versus Adam," Working Papers in Public Economics 220, University of Rome La Sapienza, Department of Economics and Law.
    4. Dufwenberg, Martin, 1996. "Time Consistent Matrimony with Endogenous Trust," Working Paper Series 1997:1, Uppsala University, Department of Economics.
    5. Helmuth Cremer & Pierre Pestieau & Kerstin Roeder, 2015. "United but (un)equal: human capital, probability of divorce, and the marriage contract," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 28(1), pages 195-217, January.
    6. Kim, Yeorim & Mastrogiacomo, Mauro & Hochguertel, Stefan & Bloemen, Hans, 2022. "Till Debt Do Us Part: Strategic Divorces and a Test of Moral Hazard," IZA Discussion Papers 15446, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Lundberg, Shelly & Pollak, Robert, 2013. "Cohabitation and the Uneven Retreat from Marriage in the U.S., 1950-2010," IZA Discussion Papers 7607, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    8. Samuel A. Rea, Jr., 1995. "Breaking Up is Hard to Do: The Economics of Spousal Support," Working Papers reas-95-01, University of Toronto, Department of Economics.
    9. Dufwenberg, Martin, 2002. "Marital investments, time consistency and emotions," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 48(1), pages 57-69, May.
    10. Joni Hersch & Jennifer Bennett Shinall, 2020. "When equitable is not equal: experimental evidence on the division of marital assets in divorce," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(3), pages 655-682, September.
    11. Holahan, William L & Perlman, Richard, 1991. "How to Carve a Medical Degree: Comment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 81(4), pages 1015-1016, September.
    12. Ian Smith, 2003. "The Law and Economics of Marriage Contracts," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(2), pages 201-226, April.
    13. Shelly Lundberg & Robert A. Pollak, 2014. "Cohabitation and the Uneven Retreat from Marriage in the United States, 1950–2010," NBER Chapters, in: Human Capital in History: The American Record, pages 241-272, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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