Author(s)
Stefania Marcassa

At the end of the 1960s, the U.S. divorce law underwent major changes and the divorce rate almost doubled in all of the states. This paper shows that changes in property division, alimony transfers, and child custody assignments account for a substantial share of the increase in the divorce rate, especially for young, college educated couples with children. I solve and calibrate a model where agents make decisions on their marital status, savings, and labor supply. Under the new financial settlements, divorced men gain from a higher share of property, while women gain from an increase in alimony and child support transfers. The introduction of the unilateral decision to divorce has limited effects.

Publication Type
Article
Journal
B.E. Journal of Macroeconomics
Volume
13
Issue Number
1
Pages
997-1035
JEL Codes
J12: Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse
D13: Household Production and Intrahousehold Allocation
K36: Family and Personal Law
Keywords
Age-specific divorce rate
unilateral and consensual divorce
divorce law
property laws
property division
alimony and child support
child custody