Marriage and Divorce since World War II: Analyzing the Role of Technological Progress on the Formation of Households Articles uri icon

authors

  • GUNER, NEZIH
  • GREENWOOD, JEREMY PHILIP

publication date

  • April 2009

start page

  • 231

end page

  • 276

volume

  • 23

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

  • 0889-3365

Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)

  • 1537-2642

abstract

  • Since World War II there has been: (i) a rise in the fraction of time that married households allocate to market work, (ii) an increase in the rate of divorce, and (iii) a decline in the rate of marriage. What can explain this? It
    is argued here that labor-saving technological progress in the household sector
    can explain these facts. This makes it more feasible for singles to maintain
    their own home, and for married women to work. To address this question, a
    search model of marriage and divorce, which incorporates household production,
    is developed. An extension looks back at the prewar era.