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Divorce, Fertility and the Shot Gun Marriage
Alberto F. Alesina Harvard University - Department of Economics; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) Paola Giuliano University of California, Los Angeles - Anderson School of Management; Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) July 2006 NBER Working Paper No. W12375 Abstract: Total fertility declined in states that introduced unilateral divorce, which makes dissolution of marriage easier. Also the ratio of out-of-wedlock fertility over total declined. We suggest an explanation (and provide supportive evidence for it) based upon the effect of divorce laws on the probability of entering and exiting marriage. Women planning to have children marry more easily with an easier exit option from marriage. Thus, more children are born in the first years of marriage, while the total marital fertility does not change, probably as a result of an increase in divorces and marital instability. Working Paper Series Date posted: July 26, 2006 ; Last revised: September 28, 2006Suggested CitationContact Information
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