On the selection effects under consent and unilateral divorce

Baç, Mehmet (2015) On the selection effects under consent and unilateral divorce. American Law and Economics Review, 17 (1). pp. 43-86. ISSN 1465-7252 (Print) 1465-7260 (Online)

[thumbnail of Am_Law_Econ_Rev-2015-Bac-aler_ahv003.pdf] PDF
Am_Law_Econ_Rev-2015-Bac-aler_ahv003.pdf
Restricted to Registered users only

Download (254kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

I develop a model of marriage and divorce with privately known spouse characteristics, producing new insights: The switch from consent to unilateral divorce raises second-marriage spouse quality, hence, short-run divorce, when "good" types are in minority. Spouse quality declines from first to second marriage under both rules, but selection into first marriage is unambiguously better under unilateral divorce, which should reduce long-run divorce. An improvement in outside options amplifies the selectivity advantage of unilateral divorce provided the majority of the population marries. If the value of outside options is projected to continue rising, marriage and divorce rates should continue to fall.
Item Type: Article
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
Divisions: Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences > Academic programs > Economics
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
Depositing User: Mehmet Baç
Date Deposited: 18 Dec 2015 15:30
Last Modified: 23 Aug 2019 12:41
URI: https://research.sabanciuniv.edu/id/eprint/27926

Actions (login required)

View Item
View Item