Updating the Beckarian Approach to Marriage: Divorce Rates in the United States from 1990-2020
Faculty Sponsor(s)
Eric Schuck
Location
Jereld R. Nicholson Library: Grand Avenue
Subject Area
Economics
Description
The perception of rising divorce rates has become a concern within the United States. Colloquially, people attribute the decline in marriage to a variety of factors many associated with women’s economic autonomy. However, the belief that women’s rising employment has increased their economic independence and decreased their desirability of marriage also known as the ‘independence hypothesis’ has limited empirical evidence (Oppenheimer 1997). Within economics, Gary Becker is recognized as one of the first researchers to apply economic concepts to marriage in his two-part paper titled ‘A Theory of Marriage’. However, Becker’s work, first published in 1973, contains a problematic perspective on the assumption of marriage roles. Additionally, Becker’s paper tends to focus on the formation rather than the dissolution of marriage. Therefore, this study updates Becker’s assumptions and aims to investigate the prevalence of divorce rates in the United States as a function of education level, access to birth control, female labor force participation rates, mean personal income, marriage rates, and average number of children from the years 1990-2020.
Recommended Citation
Fiocchi, Maggie, "Updating the Beckarian Approach to Marriage: Divorce Rates in the United States from 1990-2020" (2022). Linfield University Student Symposium: A Celebration of Scholarship and Creative Achievement. Event. Submission 14.
https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/symposium/2022/all/14
Updating the Beckarian Approach to Marriage: Divorce Rates in the United States from 1990-2020
Jereld R. Nicholson Library: Grand Avenue
The perception of rising divorce rates has become a concern within the United States. Colloquially, people attribute the decline in marriage to a variety of factors many associated with women’s economic autonomy. However, the belief that women’s rising employment has increased their economic independence and decreased their desirability of marriage also known as the ‘independence hypothesis’ has limited empirical evidence (Oppenheimer 1997). Within economics, Gary Becker is recognized as one of the first researchers to apply economic concepts to marriage in his two-part paper titled ‘A Theory of Marriage’. However, Becker’s work, first published in 1973, contains a problematic perspective on the assumption of marriage roles. Additionally, Becker’s paper tends to focus on the formation rather than the dissolution of marriage. Therefore, this study updates Becker’s assumptions and aims to investigate the prevalence of divorce rates in the United States as a function of education level, access to birth control, female labor force participation rates, mean personal income, marriage rates, and average number of children from the years 1990-2020.
