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Journal of Labor Economics Vol. 33 No. 1 2015

The Dynamics of Marriage and Divorce

Gustaf Bruze1; Michael Svarer1; Yoram Weiss2

1 Aarhus University · 2 Tel Aviv University

open access

Abstract

We formulate and estimate a dynamic model of marriage, divorce, and remarriage using panel data on two cohorts of Danish men and women. The marital surplus is identified from the probability of divorce and the surplus shares of husbands and wives from their willingness to enter marriage. We find that the educations of husbands and wives are complements. Education raises the share of the marital surplus for men but not for women. As men and women get older, husbands receive a larger share of the marital surplus. The estimated costs of divorce are high both early and late in marriage.

DOI
10.1086/677393
Volume
33
Issue
1
Pages
123-170
Language
en
Sources
openalex crossref

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