Does marriage make people happy, or do happy people get married?

Arbeitspapier

This paper analyzes the causal relationships between marriage and subjective well-being in a longitudinal data set spanning 17 years. We find evidence that happier singles opt more likely for marriage and that there are large differences in the benefits from marriage between couples. Potential, as well as actual, division of labor seems to contribute to spouses' wellbeing, especially for women and when there is a young family to raise. In contrast, large differences in the partners' educational level have a negative effect on experienced life satisfaction.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 1811

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Household Production and Intrahousehold Allocation ; General Welfare; Well-Being ; Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure; Domestic Abuse
• Subject: division of labor ; marriage ; selection ; subjective well-being ; Kausalanalyse ; Deutschland ; Ehe ; Lebenszufriedenheit

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Stutzer, Alois ; Frey, Bruno S.
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2005

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/33531
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:43 AM CET