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Marriage and Divorce since World War II: Analyzing the Role of Technological Progress on the Formation of Households

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Author Info
Greenwood, Jeremy () (University of Pennsylvania)
Guner, Nezih () (Universidad Carlos III, Madrid)

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Abstract

Since World War II there has been: (i) a rise in the fraction of time that married households allocate to market work, (ii) an increase in the rate of divorce, and (iii) a decline in the rate of marriage. It is argued here that labor-saving technological progress in the household sector can explain these facts. This makes it more feasible for singles to maintain their own home, and for married women to work. To address this question, a search model of marriage and divorce, which incorporates household production, is developed. An extension looks back at the prewar era.

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Paper provided by Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) in its series IZA Discussion Papers with number 3313.

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Date of creation: Jan 2008
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Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp3313

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Related research
Keywords: household size household production hours worked divorce marriage technological progress

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Find related papers by JEL classification:
E13 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - General Aggregative Models - - - Neoclassical
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
O11 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Macroeconomic Analyses of Economic Development

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References listed on IDEAS
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, 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. Albanesi, Stefania & Olivetti, Claudia, 2007. "Gender Roles and Technological Progress," CEPR Discussion Papers 6352, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Borghans, Lex & ter Weel, Bas & Weinberg, Bruce A., 2005. "People People: Social Capital and the Labor-Market Outcomes of Underrepresented Groups," IZA Discussion Papers 1494, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. John Knowles, 2005. "Why are Married Men Working So Much?," PIER Working Paper Archive 05-031, Penn Institute for Economic Research, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Stefania Albanesi & Claudia Olivetti, 2006. "Home Production, Market Production and the Gender Wage Gap: Incentives and Expectations," NBER Working Papers 12212, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  5. Nezih Guner & Remzi Kaygusuz & Gustavo Ventura, 2008. "Taxation, aggregates and the household," Working Papers 660, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  6. Zvika Neeman & Andrew F. Newman & Claudia Olivetti, 2006. "Are Working Women Good for Marriage?," Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series WP2006-039, Boston University - Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
  7. Greenwood, Jeremy & Guner, Nezih, 2008. "Social Change," IZA Discussion Papers 3485, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  8. Shoshana Grossbard & Catalina Amuedo-Dorantes, 2007. "Cohort-Level Sex Ratio Effects on Women’s Labor Force Participation," IZA Discussion Papers 2722, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  9. Shelly Lundberg & Robert A. Pollak, 2007. "The American Family and Family Economics," NBER Working Papers 12908, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  10. Alexis León & Daniele Coen-Pirani & Steven Lugauer, 2008. "The Effect of Household Appliances on Female Labor Force Participation: Evidence from Micro Data," Working Papers 355, University of Pittsburgh, Department of Economics, revised May 2008. [Downloadable!]
  11. John Knowles, 2007. "Why Are Married Men Working So Much? The Macroeconomics of Bargaining Between Spouses," IZA Discussion Papers 2909, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). [Downloadable!]
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This page was last updated on 2008-10-6.

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