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Sin City?

Author

Listed:
  • Pieter A. Gautier

    (VU University Amsterdam)

  • Michael Svarer

    (Aarhus University)

  • Coen N. Teulings

    (University of Amsterdam)

Abstract

Is moving to the countryside a credible commitment device for couples? Weinvestigate whether lowering the arrival rate of potential alternative partners bymoving to a less populated area lowers the dissolution risk for a sample of Danishcouples. We find that of the couples who married in the city, the ones who stay inthe city have significant higher divorce rates. Similarly, for the couples who marriedoutside the city, the ones who move to the city are more likely to divorce. Thiscorrelation can be explained by both a causal and a sorting effect. We disentanglethem by using the timing-of-events approach. In addition we use information on father’slocation as an instrument. We find that the sorting effect dominates. Movingto the countryside is therefore not a cheap way to prolong relationships. See 'Sin City? Why is the Divorce Rate Higher in Urban Areas?' , in 'Scandinavian Journal of Economics', 2009, 111(3), 439-56.

Suggested Citation

  • Pieter A. Gautier & Michael Svarer & Coen N. Teulings, 2007. "Sin City?," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 07-021/3, Tinbergen Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20070021
    as

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    File URL: https://papers.tinbergen.nl/07021.pdf
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    Other versions of this item:

    • Teulings, Coen & Gautier, Pieter & Svarer, Michael, 2007. "Sin City?," CEPR Discussion Papers 6170, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    • Gautier, Pieter A. & Svarer, Michael & Teulings, Coen, 2007. "Sin City?," IZA Discussion Papers 2632, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Pieter A. Gautier & Michael Svarer & Coen N. Teulings, 2007. "Sin City?," Economics Working Papers 2007-01, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    • Pieter A. Gautier & Michael Svarer & Coen N. Teulings, 2007. "Sin City?," CAM Working Papers 2007-01, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics. Centre for Applied Microeconometrics.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gautier, Pieter A. & Svarer, Michael & Teulings, Coen, 2005. "Marriage and the City," IZA Discussion Papers 1491, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    2. Peters, H Elizabeth, 1986. "Marriage and Divorce: Informational Constraints and Private Contracting," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(3), pages 437-454, June.
    3. 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 293-329, January.
    4. Tracy J. Cornelius, 2003. "A Search Model of Marriage and Divorce," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 6(1), pages 135-155, January.
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    6. Van den Berg, Gerard J., 2001. "Duration models: specification, identification and multiple durations," Handbook of Econometrics, in: J.J. Heckman & E.E. Leamer (ed.), Handbook of Econometrics, edition 1, volume 5, chapter 55, pages 3381-3460, Elsevier.
    7. Burdett Kenneth & Imai Ryoichi & Wright Randall, 2004. "Unstable Relationships," The B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics, De Gruyter, vol. 1(1), pages 1-44, January.
    8. 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.
    9. Rene Boheim & John Ermisch, 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.
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    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Dissolution; search; mobility; city;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J64 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Unemployment: Models, Duration, Incidence, and Job Search

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