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’Til booze do us part: alcohol consumption and marital dissolution

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  • Sanna Huikari

    (University of Oulu)

  • Marko Korhonen

    (University of Oulu)

  • Mikko Puhakka

    (University of Oulu)

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between alcohol consumption and divorces in 23 OECD countries from 1960 to 2010. We employ the differenced fixed-effect panel regression and panel vector error-correction models. We establish a significant unidirectional Granger causality from alcohol consumption to divorce rates across countries. Furthermore, we discover a long-run equilibrium relation between divorce rates and alcohol consumption. The results are robust, since they do not change even if we include other socioeconomic factors in the regression.

Suggested Citation

  • Sanna Huikari & Marko Korhonen & Mikko Puhakka, 2016. "’Til booze do us part: alcohol consumption and marital dissolution," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 831-852, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:empeco:v:51:y:2016:i:2:d:10.1007_s00181-015-1017-9
    DOI: 10.1007/s00181-015-1017-9
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Alcohol consumption; Divorce; Panel cointegration; Causality;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • C23 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models

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