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The Impact of Divorce Laws on the Equilibrium in the Marriage Market

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  • Ana Reynoso

Abstract

Does easier divorce affect who marries whom? I exploit time variation in the adoption of unilateral divorce across the United States and show that it increases assortative matching among newlyweds. To unravel the underlying mechanisms, I estimate a novel life-cycle equilibrium model of marriage, labor supply, consumption, and divorce under the baseline mutual consent divorce regime. By solving the model under unilateral divorce, I find that, consistent with the data, assortative matching increases. Effects are largely due to changes in choices when risk sharing and cooperation within marriage decrease, which highlights the importance of considering equilibrium effects when evaluating family policies.

Suggested Citation

  • Ana Reynoso, 2024. "The Impact of Divorce Laws on the Equilibrium in the Marriage Market," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 132(12), pages 4155-4204.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucp:jpolec:doi:10.1086/732532
    DOI: 10.1086/732532
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Fabio Blasutto & Egor Kozlov, 2020. "(Changing) Marriage and Cohabitation Patterns in the US: do Divorce Laws Matter?," 2020 Papers pbl245, Job Market Papers.
    2. Velilla, Jorge & Theloudis, Alexandros & Chiappori, Pierre-André & Gimenez-Nadal, J. Ignacio & Molina, Jose Alberto, 2026. "Commitment and the Dynamics of Household Labour Supply: New Tests and Evidence from Europe," Other publications TiSEM 558dc95d-cf29-405a-b3f2-9, Tilburg University, School of Economics and Management.
    3. Kazuharu Yanagimoto, 2026. "Marriage and Divorce in Continuous Time," Papers 2602.19798, arXiv.org.
    4. Frederik Almar & Benjamin Friedrich & Ana Reynoso & Bastian Schulz & Rune M. Vejlin, 2025. "Families’ Career Investments and Firms’ Promotion Decisions," NBER Working Papers 33438, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Foerster, Hanno & Obermeier, Tim & Schulz, Bastian, 2024. "Job Displacement, Remarriage, and Marital Sorting," IZA Discussion Papers 17335, IZA Network @ LISER.
    6. Jorge Velilla & José Alberto Molina & Pierre-André Chiappori, 2025. "The price of breaking up: Wage shocks and household dissolution," Boston College Working Papers in Economics 1096, Boston College Department of Economics.
    7. Frederik Almar & Benjamin Friedrich & Ana Reynoso & Bastian Schulz & Rune M. Vejlin, 2025. "Educational Ambition, Marital Sorting, and Inequality," NBER Working Papers 33683, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    8. Calvo, Paula & Iyigun, Murat & Lafortune, Jeanne, 2025. "Trapped in Purgatory? The Impact of Divorce Laws on Women’s Welfare with Separation," IZA Discussion Papers 18093, IZA Network @ LISER.
    9. Calvo, Paula & Lindenlaub, Ilse & Uniat, Lindsey, 2025. "Motherhood penalty in consumption," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    10. Mary Ann Bronson & Daniel Haanwinckel & Maurizio Mazzocco, 2024. "Taxation and Household Decisions: an Intertemporal Analysis," NBER Working Papers 32861, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.

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