RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Is Your Love in Vain? Another Look at Premarital Cohabitation and Divorce
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 523
OP 535
DO 10.3368/jhr.XXXIX.2.523
VO XXXIX
IS 2
A1 Michael Svarer
YR 2004
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/XXXIX/2/523.abstract
AB In this paper we provide an empirical investigation of the association between premarital cohabitation and subsequent risk of divorce. Theoretically couples who cohabit before marriage should have a lower subsequent risk of divorce since cohabitation enables you to gather information about the match quality, and only good matches evolve into marriage. However, a considerable number of papers have come to the complete opposite conclusion. The counter-intuitive result has been justified with self-selection of cohabitants as the main argument. In the present paper, we provide new evidence concerning the relationship between premarital cohabitation and divorce.