Discussion Papers no. 514

Plant closure and marital dissolution

We estimate the effect of plant closure on divorce using a panel data set comprising more than 80,000 married couples in Norway. Plant closure substantially increases the likelihood of marital dissolution of workers in affected plants. The marriages of husbands originally employed in plants that closed between 1995 and 2000 were 11 percent more likely to be dissolved by 2003 than comparable marriages of husbands in stable plants. Additional analyses suggest that the effect of plant closure on divorce is not due to unexpected reduction in earnings. The results are, however, consistent with role theories, in which the husband's attractiveness declines if he fails to fulfill a traditional role as a breadwinner.

Om publikasjonen

Tittel

Plant closure and marital dissolution

Ansvarlige

Mari Rege, Mark Votruba, Kjetil Telle

Serie og -nummer

Discussion Papers no. 514

Utgiver

Statistics Norway

Emne

Discussion Papers

Antall sider

23

Målform

Engelsk

Om Discussion Papers

Discussion papers comprise research papers intended for international journals and books. A preprint of a Discussion Paper may be longer and more elaborate than a standard journal article as it may include intermediate calculations, background material etc.

Kontakt