We examine the association between nonmarital childbearing and the subsequent likelihood of first marriage and document … expectations of future marriage. Rather, the direction of causation is just the reverse: Nonmarital childbearing tends to be an … first marriage. Further, the upward trend in the proportion of childbearing that occurs outside of marriage may account for …

with stable earnings and marriage rates among women. Wilson (1987) reasons that because single motherhood is an alternative … to traditional marriage, circumstances that impede marriage should also encourage single motherhood. However, few studies … marriage market prospects and the prevalence of never-married mothers. Much of the existing literature frames the expansion of …

Economists usually assume that bargaining in marriage leads to efficient outcomes. The most convincing rationale for … environments, and that marriage provides such an environment. This paper argues that when a current decision affects future … binding commitments regarding allocation within marriage. To investigate the efficiency of bargaining within marriage when …

We study the role of wealth in the marriage contract by developing a model of the household where investments in public …-divorce allocation, specialization and public good creation will be sub-optimal. However, accumulating joint assets, which the marriage … specialization, more public goods, and a higher value of marriage. To test the model’s predictions, we use homeownership as a proxy …