Marriage and Divorce Since World War II: Analyzing the Role of Technological Progress on the Formation of Households

Economie D'avant Garde Working Paper No. 8

67 Pages Posted: 9 Sep 2004 Last revised: 5 Jun 2008

See all articles by Jeremy Greenwood

Jeremy Greenwood

University of Pennsylvania - Department of Economics; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

Nezih Guner

Charles III University of Madrid; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Multiple version iconThere are 4 versions of this paper

Date Written: May 2008

Abstract

Since World War II there has been: (i) a rise in the fraction of time that married households allocate to market work, (ii) an increase in the rate of divorce, and (iii) a decline in the rate of marriage. It is argued here that labor-saving technological progress in the household sector can explain these facts. This makes it more feasible for singles to maintain their own home, and for married women to work. To address this question, a search model of marriage and divorce, which incorporates household production, is developed. An extension looks back at the prewar era.

Keywords: Marriage, Divorce, Hours Worked, Household Production, Household Size, Technological Progress

JEL Classification: E13, J12, J22, O11

Suggested Citation

Greenwood, Jeremy and Guner, Nezih, Marriage and Divorce Since World War II: Analyzing the Role of Technological Progress on the Formation of Households (May 2008). Economie D'avant Garde Working Paper No. 8, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=587048 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.587048

Jeremy Greenwood

University of Pennsylvania - Department of Economics ( email )

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National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER)

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Nezih Guner (Contact Author)

Charles III University of Madrid ( email )

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Spain

Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

London
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IZA Institute of Labor Economics

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Germany