[go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/aic/revebs/y2021j28harmanj.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does Unemployment Lead To The Breakdown Of A Marriage? Evidence From The Slovak Republic

Author

Listed:
  • JAKUB HARMAN

    (University of Economics in Bratislava, Faculty of National Economy, Department of Social Development and Labour, Dolnozemská cesta 1, Bratislava, 852 35, Slovak Republic)

Abstract
In a sample of 79 districts of the Slovak Republic for the period 1997 - 2019, we examine the connection between the unemployment rate and the crude divorce rate. Our findings reveal a negative and statistically significant relationship, which suggests a pro cyclical nature in terms of the economic cycle. The estimated coefficients are relatively consistent even after the addition of control variables considering socio - economic factors or fixed effects. The results of the regression analysis show that an increase in the unemployment rate by one percentage point is accompanied by a decrease in the crude divorce rate by an average of 0.024 units. These findings support the assumptions of the theory of the high costs of divorce that spouses must bear. In a period of high unemployment, it is more acceptable for spouses to stay married than to bear the high costs associated with legal proceedings or the loss of part of the joint savings. The analysis of possible non-linear relationships between the unemployment rate and the crude divorce rate also showed a negative relationship. Quantile regression also points to the U-shaped relationship between variables and supports the opportunity theory.

Suggested Citation

  • Jakub Harman, 2021. "Does Unemployment Lead To The Breakdown Of A Marriage? Evidence From The Slovak Republic," Review of Economic and Business Studies, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, issue 28, pages 9-40, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:aic:revebs:y:2021:j:28:harmanj
    DOI: 10.47743/rebs-2021-2-0001
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://rebs.feaa.uaic.ro/articles/pdfs/312.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.47743/rebs-2021-2-0001?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Leora Friedberg, 1998. "Did Unilateral Divorce Raise Divorce Rates? Evidence from Panel Data," NBER Working Papers 6398, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Yannis M. Ioannides & Henry G. Overman, 2004. "Spatial evolution of the US urban system," Journal of Economic Geography, Oxford University Press, vol. 4(2), pages 131-156, April.
    3. Peters, H Elizabeth, 1986. "Marriage and Divorce: Informational Constraints and Private Contracting," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(3), pages 437-454, June.
    4. Raquel Fernández & Joyce Cheng Wong, 2014. "Divorce Risk, Wages and Working Wives: A Quantitative Life‐Cycle Analysis of Female Labour Force Participation," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 0(576), pages 319-358, May.
    5. Dolores Jiménez-Rubio & Nuno Garoupa & Virginia Rosales, 2016. "Explaining divorce rate determinants: new evidence from Spain," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 23(7), pages 461-464, May.
    6. Denise Doiron & Silvia Mendolia, 2012. "The impact of job loss on family dissolution," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 25(1), pages 367-398, January.
    7. Jensen, Peter & Smith, Nina, 1990. "Unemployment and Marital Dissolution," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 3(3), pages 215-229, October.
    8. Marcus Eliason, 2011. "Income after job loss: the role of the family and the welfare state," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 43(5), pages 603-618.
    9. Jessamyn Schaller, 2013. "For richer, if not for poorer? Marriage and divorce over the business cycle," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(3), pages 1007-1033, July.
    10. Weiss, Yoram & Willis, Robert J, 1997. "Match Quality, New Information, and Marital Dissolution," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 15(1), pages 293-329, January.
    11. Todd Kendall, 2011. "The Relationship Between Internet Access and Divorce Rate," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 32(3), pages 449-460, September.
    12. Becker, Gary S & Landes, Elisabeth M & Michael, Robert T, 1977. "An Economic Analysis of Marital Instability," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 85(6), pages 1141-1187, December.
    13. Hellerstein Judith K & Morrill Melinda Sandler, 2011. "Booms, Busts, and Divorce," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 11(1), pages 1-28, August.
    14. Raquel Fernández & Joyce C. Wong, 2014. "Divorce Risk, Wages, and Working Wives: A Quantitative Life-Cycle Analysis of Female Labor Force Participation," NBER Working Papers 19869, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Rafael González-Val & Miriam Marcén, 2018. "Unemployment, marriage and divorce," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(13), pages 1495-1508, March.
    2. Rafael González-Val & Miriam Marcén, 2017. "Divorce and the business cycle: a cross-country analysis," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 879-904, September.
    3. Rafael González-Val & Miriam Marcén, 2015. "Regional unemployment, marriage, and divorce," Working Papers 2015/38, Institut d'Economia de Barcelona (IEB).
    4. Andrew Grant & Steve Satchell, 2019. "Endogenous divorce risk and investment," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(3), pages 845-876, July.
    5. Jessamyn Schaller, 2013. "For richer, if not for poorer? Marriage and divorce over the business cycle," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(3), pages 1007-1033, July.
    6. Delia Furtado & Miriam Marcén & Almudena Sevilla, 2013. "Does Culture Affect Divorce? Evidence From European Immigrants in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(3), pages 1013-1038, June.
    7. Bellido, Héctor & Marcén, Miriam, 2014. "Divorce laws and fertility," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(C), pages 56-70.
    8. Almudena Sevilla-Sanz & Delia Furtado and Miriam Marcen, 2010. "Does Culture Affect Divorce Decisions? Evidence from European Immigrants in the US," Economics Series Working Papers 495, University of Oxford, Department of Economics.
    9. Jennifer Klein, 2017. "House Price Shocks and Individual Divorce Risk in the United States," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 38(4), pages 628-649, December.
    10. Mohammad Reza Farzanegan & Hassan Fereidouni Gholipour, 2016. "Divorce and the cost of housing: evidence from Iran," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 1029-1054, December.
    11. Marcus Eliason, 2012. "Lost jobs, broken marriages," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 25(4), pages 1365-1397, October.
    12. John Douglas Skåtun, 2017. "Bargaining on your Spouse: Coasean and Non-Coasean Behaviour Within Marriage," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 38(2), pages 263-278, June.
    13. Sanna Huikari & Marko Korhonen & Mikko Puhakka, 2016. "’Til booze do us part: alcohol consumption and marital dissolution," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 51(2), pages 831-852, September.
    14. Carina Keldenich & Christine Luecke, 2022. "Unlucky at work, unlucky in love: job loss and marital stability," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 243-278, March.
    15. González-Val, Rafael & Marcén, Miriam, 2012. "Unilateral divorce versus child custody and child support in the U.S," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 81(2), pages 613-643.
    16. Pablo Brassiolo, 2016. "Domestic Violence and Divorce Law: When Divorce Threats Become Credible," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 34(2), pages 443-477.
    17. Robert Nakosteen & Michael Zimmer, 2017. "Marriage dissolution among American men, 2003–2010: The roles of measured earnings and latent selection," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 5(1), pages 1348327-134, January.
    18. Melissa Ruby Banzhaf, 2018. "When It Rains, It Pours: Under What Circumstances Does Job Loss Lead to Divorce," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 85(2), pages 349-377, October.
    19. Laura Turner & Aloysius Siow & Gueorgui Kambourov, 2014. "Relationship Skills in the Labor and Marriage Markets," 2014 Meeting Papers 155, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    20. Bowles, Roger & Garoupa, Nuno, 2002. "Household dissolution, child care and divorce law," International Review of Law and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 495-510, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    crude divorce rate; unemployment; motivation; opportunity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:aic:revebs:y:2021:j:28:harmanj. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sireteanu Napoleon-Alexandru (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/feaicro.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.