Full Citation

Title: The Wife's Protector: A Quantitative Theory Linking Contraceptive Technology with the Decline in Marriage

Citation Type: Working Paper

Publication Year: 2019

ISBN:

ISSN:

DOI: 10.3386/w26410

NSFID:

PMCID:

PMID:

Abstract: The 19th and 20th centuries saw a transformation in contraceptive technologies and their take up. This led to a sexual revolution, which witnessed a rise in premarital sex and out-of-wedlock births, and a decline in marriage. The impact of contraception on married and single life is analyzed here both theoretically and quantitatively. The analysis is conducted using a model where people search for partners. Upon finding one, they can choose between abstinence, marriage, and a premarital sexual relationship. The model is confronted with some stylized facts about premarital sex and marriage over the course of the 20th century. Some economic history is also presented.

Url: https://www.nber.org/papers/w26410

User Submitted?: No

Authors: Greenwood, Jeremy; Guner, Nezih; Kopecky, Karen, A

Series Title: NBER Working Paper Series

Publication Number: 26410

Institution: NBER

Pages: 56

Publisher Location:

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Family and Marriage, Gender

Countries: