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Do Children Stabilize Marriages?

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Author Info
Svarer, Michael (Department of Economics, University of Aarhus)
Verner, Mette () (Department of Economics, Aarhus School of Business)

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Abstract

In this paper we study the relationship between fertility behavior and the process of marriage duration. The potential endogeneity of fertility on marriage behavior is taken into account by modeling fertility and divorce jointly. We apply the ”timing-of-event” method (Abbring & van den Berg (2002)) to identify the causal effect of births on the divorce hazard. We show that couples who are less prone to divorce are more prone to invest in children, and therefore one might (mistakenly) conclude that children tend to stabilize marriages. However, when correcting for the selectivity bias arising from the fertility decision, we conclude that children themselves do not have a positive effect on marriage duration.

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Publisher Info
Paper provided by University of Aarhus, Aarhus School of Business, Department of Economics in its series Working Papers with number 03-4.

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Length: 28 pages
Date of creation: 01 Feb 2003
Date of revision:
Handle: RePEc:hhs:aareco:2003_004

Note: Forthcoming in Journal of Population Economics
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Postal: The Aarhus School of Business, Prismet, Silkeborgvej 2, DK 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
Phone: +45 89 486396
Fax: +45 8615 5175
Web page: http://www.asb.dk/departments/nat.aspx
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Related research
Keywords: Marriage; divorce; children;

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
C30 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - General
J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Aassve, Arnstein & Burgess, Simon & Propper, Carol, 1997. "'I Vont To Be Alone' Transitions to Independent Living, Marriage and Divorce Among Young Americans," CEPR Discussion Papers 1715, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  2. Boheim, Rene & Ermisch, John, 2001. " Partnership Dissolution in the UK--The Role of Economic Circumstances," Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Oxford, vol. 63(2), pages 197-208, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Jacobsen, Joyce P. & PearceIII, James Wishart & Rosenbloom, Joshua L., 2001. "The effects of child-bearing on women's marital status: using twin births as a natural experiment," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 70(1), pages 133-138, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Daniela VURI, 2001. "Fertility and Divorce," Economics Working Papers ECO2001/05, European University Institute. [Downloadable!]
  5. Gary S. Becker & Elisabeth M. Landes & Robert T. Michael, 1976. "Economics of Marital Instability," NBER Working Papers 0153, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Lillard, Lee A., 1993. "Simultaneous equations for hazards : Marriage duration and fertility timing," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 56(1-2), pages 189-217, March. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  7. Svarer, Michael, . "Determinants of Divorce in Denmark," Economics Working Papers 2002-19, School of Economics and Management, University of Aarhus. [Downloadable!]
  8. Rosholm , Michael & Svarer, Michael, 2001. "Structurally Dependent Competing Risks," IZA Discussion Papers 265, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. Lillard, L.A. & Waite, L.J., 1993. "A Joint Model of Marital Childbearing and Marital Disruption," Papers 93-02, RAND - Labor and Population Program.
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  10. Vuri, Daniela, 2002. "Propensity Score Estimates of the Effect of Fertility on Marital Dissolution," Royal Economic Society Annual Conference 2002 180, Royal Economic Society. [Downloadable!]
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  11. Jaap H. Abbring & Gerard J. van den Berg, 2003. "The Nonparametric Identification of Treatment Effects in Duration Models," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 71(5), pages 1491-1517, 09. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  12. Becker, Gary S & Landes, Elisabeth M & Michael, Robert T, 1977. "An Economic Analysis of Marital Instability," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 85(6), pages 1141-87, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  13. Heckman, James J & Walker, James R, 1990. "The Relationship between Wages and Income and the Timing and Spacing of Births: Evidence from Swedish Longitudinal Data," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 58(6), pages 1411-41, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  14. Weiss, Yoram & Willis, Robert J, 1997. "Match Quality, New Information, and Marital Dissolution," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(1), pages S293-329, January. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  1. Svarer, Michael, . "Determinants of Divorce in Denmark," Economics Working Papers 2002-19, School of Economics and Management, University of Aarhus. [Downloadable!]
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