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Why does women’s education stabilize marriages? The role of marital attraction and barriers to divorce

Author

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  • Diederik Boertien

    (Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics (CED))

  • Juho Härkönen

    (European University Institute)

Abstract

Background: Despite widespread attention paid to the negative correlation between female education and divorce, we lack an explanation for it. In this study we use social exchange theory to assess two broad groups of explanations. According to the ‘marital attraction’ explanation, educated women’s marriages have higher marital quality and marital satisfaction. According to the ‘barriers to divorce’ explanation, educated women’s marriages include factors that raise the cost of divorcing. Many previous studies have referred to variants of the former explanation, whereas the latter has been less prominent. Our objective is to investigate the explanatory power of these two explanations. Methods: We use discrete-time event history models to document the educational gradient of divorce from first marriages using the British Household Panel Survey (N = 1,263) for the years 1996–2009. We subsequently perform a mediation analysis to explain the educational gradient in divorce and a path analysis to distinguish which factors shape marital attraction and barriers to divorce. Results: Female education is positively related to marital stability, but this association is only partly explained by educational differences in marital satisfaction and variables that shape attractions. Variables interpreted as affecting barriers to divorce, such as home ownership and having divorced parents, provide an at least equally important explanation of the educational gradient in divorce. Contribution: This paper shows that the negative female educational gradient of divorce is shaped not only by educational differences in marital attraction, but also by differences in barriers to divorce.

Suggested Citation

  • Diederik Boertien & Juho Härkönen, 2018. "Why does women’s education stabilize marriages? The role of marital attraction and barriers to divorce," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 38(41), pages 1241-1276.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:38:y:2018:i:41
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2018.38.41
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Maike Damme, 2020. "Overcrowded Housing and Relationship Break-up," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 36(1), pages 119-139, March.
    2. Martin Mwale & Dieter von Fintel & Anja Smith, 2022. "School drop out and farm input subsidies: gender and kinship heterogeneity in Malawi," Working Papers 01/2022, Stellenbosch University, Department of Economics.
    3. Benson John & Natalie Nitsche, 2022. "Marital life courses in sub-Saharan Africa: all cause union dissolution, its timing, and time spent outside marriage," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2022-017, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    4. Daniel R. Meyer & Marcia Carlson & Md Moshi Ul Alam, 2022. "Increases in shared custody after divorce in the United States," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 46(38), pages 1137-1162.
    5. Zhou, Jinchun & Deolalikar, Anil B., 2022. "Generational persistence in schooling in China over a half century: Implications for schooling inequality," International Journal of Educational Development, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    6. Daniel Graeber & Daniel D. Schnitzlein, 2019. "The Effect of Maternal Education on Offspring's Mental Health," SOEPpapers on Multidisciplinary Panel Data Research 1028, DIW Berlin, The German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    divorce; marriage; social stratification; women's education; discrete-time event history; divorce trends; education and divorce; barriers to divorce;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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