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The ant or the grasshopper? The long-term consequences of Unilateral Divorce Laws on savings of European households

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  • Angelini, Viola
  • Bertoni, Marco
  • Stella, Luca
  • Weiss, Christoph T.

Abstract

Unilateral Divorce Laws (UDLs) allow people to obtain divorce without the consent of their spouse. Using the staggered introduction of UDLs across European countries, we show that households exposed to UDLs for a longer period of time accumulate more savings. This effect holds for both financial and total wealth and is stronger at higher quantiles of the wealth distribution. Consistent with a precautionary motive for savings, we also find that exposure to UDLs increases female labour supply, numeracy, trust in others and dispositional optimism.

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  • Angelini, Viola & Bertoni, Marco & Stella, Luca & Weiss, Christoph T., 2019. "The ant or the grasshopper? The long-term consequences of Unilateral Divorce Laws on savings of European households," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 97-113.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eecrev:v:119:y:2019:i:c:p:97-113
    DOI: 10.1016/j.euroecorev.2019.07.002
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    2. Nicolas Frémeaux & Marion Leturcq, 2022. "Wealth Accumulation and the Gender Wealth Gap Across Couples’ Legal Statuses and Matrimonial Property Regimes in France," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 38(4), pages 643-679, October.
    3. Carole Bonnet & Enrica Maria Martino & Benoît Rapoport & Anne Solaz, 2023. "Wealth inequalities among seniors: the role of marital histories across cohorts," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 21(3), pages 815-853, September.
    4. Grevenbrock, Nils, 2020. "Dispositional optimism (and pessimism), wealth, and stock market participation," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    5. Nils Grevenbrock & Max Groneck & Alexander Ludwig & Alexander Zimper, 2021. "Cognition, Optimism, And The Formation Of Age‐Dependent Survival Beliefs," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 62(2), pages 887-918, May.
    6. Shen, Kailing, 2021. "Gender Discrimination," IZA Discussion Papers 14897, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Divorce risk; Household savings; Europe;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions

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