Marriage, divorce, and legal change: new evidence from England and Wales

Abstract

In this article, we explain the evolution of divorce rates in England and Wales over the post-war period. Following the approach of the predominantly North American literature in this area, we focus on the liberalization of divorce law and socioeconomic factors as determinants of the divorce rate. In line with the development of the literature, we find that the introduction of liberalized, no-fault divorce law had a significant effect on the divorce rate in England and Wales. The finding that the law affects the divorce rate is consistent with the view that marriage is characterized by indivisibilities that inhibit Coasian bargaining. (JEL C32, J12, K19)

Changes in divorce patterns: Culture and the law

“…During this period, most OECD countries have experienced a transition from a situation in which legal barriers against divorces were strong and divorce rates low to a situation characterized by more liberal divorce laws and a greater share of marriages ending in divorce. An increasing body of literature analyzes the impact of these radical legal changes, the so-called "Divorce Revolution", on the evolution of divorce rates; some studies are concluding to a positive long-run impact (Binner & Dnes, 2001;Brinig & Buckley, 1998;González & Viitanen, 2009or González-Val & Marcén, 2012, whereas other studies show that this positive impact is only temporary (Gruber, 2004or Wolfers, 2006. Beyond these controversial positions, an empirical regularity appears to emerge: in almost every case, divorce rates started to rise before legal changes occurred.…”

Divorce and Domestic Violence Among Syrian Refugees in Germany

“…Marriage has become less popular for the same reasons. Binner and Dnes (2001) conclude that the law increased divorce by making it easier to divorce. The introduction of the liberalized, no-fault divorce law had a significant effect on the divorce rate in England and Wales.…”

Public Policies and Private Decisions: The Effect of Child Support Measures on Marriage and Divorce

“…It is intriguing that, although there exists a significant empirical literature investigating the impact of fault and no-fault regimes on the decision to divorce (see, for example, Gunter and Johnson 1978;Brinig and Carbone 1988;Allen 1990;Zelder 1993;Friedberg 1998;Binner and Dnes 2001;Mechoulan 2006), there is relatively little literature on how rules concerning marital property or child support may affect divorce 4 and fewer papers still that study the impact of these rules on the decision to marry. 5 This paper investigates the impact of one particular policy-child support-on marriage and divorce.…”