Do State-Level Variables Affect Divorce Rates?

Abstract

Concerns over the increasing divorce rate and the negative effects of divorce on the standard of living of women and their children have resulted in a growing body of literature on both the causes and consequences of divorce. While several studies discuss the determinants of divorce, few examine the effects of state-level variables on individuals' decisions to divorce. In this study, state-level variables including AFDC and food stamp payments, property distribution laws, waiting periods, and two measures of conservatism are merged with a micro data set in order to examine the effects of these variables as well as individual-level variables on the probability of divorce. Event history analysis indicates that the effects of the individual-level variables are consistent with previous work. Among the state-level variables, only the percentage of regular church-goers and the percentage of fundamentalists in the state have a significant impact on divorce. These results reject notions that liberal divorce laws and generous AFDC payments encourage the breakup of families but support the hypothesis that social norms do influence individual behavior.

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