Does custody law affect family behavior in and out of marriage?

Arbeitspapier

We examine the effect of joint custody on marriage, divorce, fertility and female employment in Austria using individual-level administrative data, covering the entire population. We also use unique data obtained from court records to analyze the effect on post-divorce outcomes. Our estimates show that joint custody significantly reduces divorce and female employment rates, significantly increases marriage and marital birth rates, and leads to a substantial increase in the total money transfer received by mothers after divorce. We interpret these results as evidence against Becker-Coase bargains and in support of a mechanism driven by a resource redistribution that favors men giving them greater incentives to invest in marriage specific capital.

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• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 7064

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse ; Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth ; Demographic Economics: Public Policy ; Family and Personal Law ; Economic History: Labor and Consumers, Demography, Education, Health, Welfare, Income, Wealth, Religion, and Philanthropy: U.S.; Canada: 1913-
• Subject: divorce ; fertility ; bargaining ; intrahousehold allocations ; Austria ; Unterhaltsrecht ; Familienökonomik ; Scheidung ; Fruchtbarkeit ; Ehe ; Verhandlungstheorie ; Theorie ; Österreich

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Böheim, René ; Francesconi, Marco ; Halla, Martin
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2012

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/69450