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Title: Homes and Husbands for All: Housing and the Post-war Marriage
Citation Type: Miscellaneous
Publication Year: 2015
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Abstract: The U.S. experienced an unprecedented increase in marriages rates and a decrease in the age of marriage after World War II. Marriage rates increased by 25 percent from 1930 to 1950 and the average age of marriage fell by two years. These marriage trends were an important contributor to the rising birth rates of the period (the baby boom). This paper argues that growth in the supply of housing after World War II contributed to the expansion of marriage during this period. Specifically, the paper estimates the effect of additional building permits (a proxy for housing supply) at the city level on individual marriage outcomes. An instrumental variable approach is used to address endogenous permit location. I construct an annual level instrument using the national permit series in conjunction with a citys geographical constraints, region and average temperature. I find a standard deviation increase in permits to a city increased the probability of marriage in that city by 6 to 7.5 percent over a two-year period. The estimates suggest that the growth in housing supply in the late 1940s can explain about 32 percent of the difference in marriage rates between 1930 and 1950.
Url: http://www.matthilleconomics.com/uploads/5/2/6/9/52699719/bbpaperdraft.pdf
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Authors: Hill, Matthew J
Publisher: University of California Los Angeles
Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Family and Marriage, Land Use/Urban Organization
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