This study finds that lower educated couples are more likely to separate than their better educated peers, because they experience strain across multiple aspects of their life, including work, finance, social relationships, health and housing. The research shows that lower educated couples are not in themselves more likely to separate, but rather face a range … Read more
Why do lower educated people separate more often? Life strains and the gradient in union dissolution
Family size and economic wellbeing following divorce: The United States in comparative perspective
Do childless women fare better economically than mothers after divorce? And do mothers with many children suffer more than those with small families? This study compares data from a panel study in the United States with similar information from studies in Germany, the United Kingdom and Australia. It finds that the household incomes of women … Read more
The Comparative Panel File: Harmonized Household Panel Surveys from Seven Countries
The Comparative Panel File (CPF) harmonizes the world’s largest and longest-running household panel surveys from seven countries: Australia (HILDA), Germany (SOEP), United Kingdom (BHPS and UKHLS), South Korea (KLIPS), Russia (RLMS), Switzerland (SHP), and the United States (PSID). The project aims to support the social science community in the analysis of comparative life course data. … Read more
A New Look at the Separation Surge in Europe: Contrasting Adult and Child Perspectives
This paper looks at recent increases in relationship dissolution across eight European countries. It finds the phenomenon is more prevalent among childless and cohabiting couples as well as among those with lower levels of education. As separation is more common among the childless, the numbers of children affected may be lower than previously thought. But … Read more
Sibling influence on family formation: A study of social interaction effects on fertility, marriage, and divorce
This study looked at whether getting married, having children or getting divorced is likely to influence a sibling to do the same. The analysis on more than 4,000 individuals living in Germany showed that siblings were more likely to become parents or get married if their brother or sister had done the same especially up … Read more
Trajectories of Life Satisfaction Before, Upon, and After Divorce: Evidence From a New Matching Approach
The new DIAL working paper by Scheppingen and Leopold Trajectories of Life Satisfaction Before, Upon, and After Divorce: Evidence from a New Matching Approach analyses how divorce influences life satisfaction. The results indicate that life satisfaction declines among divorcees, and that some declines last at least five years after the divorce. Van Scheppingen and Leopold … Read more
Divorce and Diverging Poverty Rates: A Risk‐and‐Vulnerability Approach
This study offers a new approach to analyzing life course inequalities and applies it to the link between divorce and poverty. Previous research has suggested that divorce drives cumulative inequality between education groups during the life course. Two pathways play a role in this process: the educational gradient in the risk of divorce and the … Read more
Family, Firms, and Fertility: A Study of Social Interaction Effects
This research shows that when an individual has a baby can be directly linked to the fertility decisions not only of their closest family and colleagues but of wider networks. The findings demonstrate for the first time and in a robust way, a clear fertility spillover effect from family to the workplace and vice versa. … Read more
Family Size and the Persistency of Poverty following Divorce: The United States in Comparative Perspective
This paper assesses how the short- and medium-term economic consequences of divorce on women vary by family size. It finds, surprisingly, that having children contributes to a woman’s economic recovery in the medium term. The researchers made use of household survey data in the US, UK, Germany, Australia and Switzerland and advanced modelling techniques to … Read more
Why is there an educational gradient in union dissolution? The strain thesis revisited
This study finds that lower educated couples are more likely to separate than their better educated peers, because they experience strain across multiple aspects of their life, including work, finance, social relationships, health and housing. The research shows that lower educated couples are not in themselves more likely to separate, but rather face a range … Read more