RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Why Have Divorce Rates Fallen?: The Role of Women’s Age at Marriage
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 961
OP 1002
DO 10.3368/jhr.51.4.0214-6224R
VO 51
IS 4
A1 Rotz, Dana
YR 2016
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/51/4/961.abstract
AB American divorce rates rose from the 1950s to the 1970s peaked around 1980, and have fallen ever since. The mean age at marriage also substantially increased after 1970. I explore the extent to which the rise in age at marriage can explain the decrease in divorce rates for cohorts marrying after 1980 using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation, 1979 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth, and National Survey of Family Growth. Three different empirical approaches suggest that the increase in women’s age at marriage is the main proximate cause of the fall in divorce rates.