Economic influences on marriage and divorce

Testing the Economic Independence Hypothesis: The Effect of an Exogenous Increase in Child Support on Subsequent Marriage and Cohabitation

“…Several authors have concluded that although the economic independence arguments have some theoretical support, the empirical evidence is weak (e.g., Burstein 2007;McLaughlin and Lichter 1997;Oppenheimer 1997;White and Rogers 2000). The argument suggests that those with the fewest resources should be most likely to be partnered; this is not the pattern typically observed in straightforward comparisons (e.g., White and Rogers 2000) or in more sophisticated empirical analyses (e.g., Aassve 2003;Carlson et al 2004a;Clarkberg 1999;Gibson-Davis 2009;Goldscheider and Sassler 2006;Joshi et al 2009;Lichter et al 1992;Raley 1996;Sassler and Schoen 1999;Schneider 2011;Sweeney 2002;Thornton et al 1995;Xie et al 2003).…”

“…It concludes that, "Therefore, in light of this demonstration of the crisis in our Nation, it is the sense of the Congress that prevention of out-of-wedlock pregnancy and reduction in out-of-wedlock birth are very important Government interests and the policy contained in part A of Title IV of the Social Security Act (as amended by section 103(a) of this Act) is intended to address the crisis." Burstein 2007). One critical difficulty is that individuals with different levels of income may be different in a variety of unmeasured ways that are correlated with family structure.…”

“…The most common approach assumes an independence effect: because additional income reduces the need for a woman to find a partner with whom she can pool resources, income is assumed to make her more independent and less likely to partner (Burstein 2007;Bzostek et al 2012;Carlson et al 2004b;Cherlin 1992).…”

“…The research on entries into unions in general (often treating marriage and cohabitation as competing risks) and research focusing specifically on entering cohabitation generally shows a weak relationship between economic resources on these transitions; when there are associations, men's resources seem more important than women's (e.g., Carlson et al 2004a;Clarkberg 1999;Goldscheider and Sassler 2006;Raley 1996). Moreover, with respect to marriage, a recent review (Burstein 2007) concluded that studies of individuals find either that women's resources are not associated with the transition to marriage or that women with higher earnings, education, or income have an increased likelihood of marriage, in contrast with the expectations of the independence hypothesis. However, few of these studies have attempted to control for unmeasured factors.…”

Relacije Bračnog Zadovoljstva I Strategija Suočavanja Sa Stresom

“…Nalazi većeg broja studija, takođe, ukazuju na značajan uticaj finansijske nestabilnosti, odnosno ekonomskog stresa, na kvalitet bračnog odnosa, smanjenje bračnog zadovoljstva, bračnu nestabilnost i razvod (Burstein, 2007;Hoffman & Duncan, 1995;Kalmijn, Loeve & Manting, 2007;Lewin, 2005;South, 2001; Ša-kotić-Kurbalija i Kurbalija, 2011;Šakotić-Kurbalija, Mihić i Kurbalija, 2012).…”