The Death of Marriage? The Effects of New Forms of Legal Recognition on Marriage Rates in the United States

Dillender, Marcus

doi:10.1007/s13524-013-0277-2

Cited by 32 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…7 These findings show that DOMA policy was associated with lower relationship stability for cohabiting couples, which is consistent with prior work that established the importance of context in assessments of stability (Joyner et al 2014). Yet, DOMA policy is not associated with relationship stability for married couples, which is consistent with aggregate-level analyses showing no association between DOMA policies and different-sex marriage and divorce (Dillender 2014; Langbein and Yost 2009). The DOMA legislation indicator may be a proxy for other contextual variables that are associated with stability.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

“…The absence of a DOMA in a state did not mean that the state was supportive of marriage to same-sex couples, but rather that the state was not actively against marriages to same-sex couples. Although these policies are not associated with the formation or stability of marriages to different-sex couples at the aggregate level (Dillender 2014; Langbein and Yost 2009), no study has assessed this policy indicator and the stability of same-sex or different-sex cohabiting couples. We introduce policy environment for same-sex couple relationships by including an indicator measuring whether the state of residence is one in which DOMA has been enacted by a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as the union of a woman and a man.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Same-Sex and Different-Sex Cohabiting Couple Relationship Stability

2016

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Relationship stability is a key indicator of well-being, but most U.S.-based research has been limited to different-sex couples. The 2008 panel of the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) provides an untapped data resource to analyze relationship stability of same-sex cohabiting, different-sex cohabiting, and different-sex married couples (n = 5,701). The advantages of the SIPP data include the recent, nationally representative, and longitudinal data collection; a large sample of same-sex cohabitors; respondent and partner socioeconomic characteristics; and identification of a state-level indicator of a policy stating that marriage is between one man and one woman (i.e., DOMA). We tested competing hypotheses about the stability of same-sex versus different-sex cohabiting couples that were guided by incomplete institutionalization, minority stress, relationship investments, and couple homogamy perspectives (predicting that same-sex couples would be less stable) as well as economic resources (predicting that same-sex couples would be more stable). In fact, neither expectation was supported: results indicated that same-sex cohabiting couples typically experience levels of stability that are similar to those of different-sex cohabiting couples. We also found evidence of contextual effects: living in a state with a constitutional ban against same-sex marriage was significantly associated with higher levels of instability for same- and different-sex cohabiting couples. The level of stability in both same-sex and different-sex cohabiting couples is not on par with that of different-sex married couples. The findings contribute to a growing literature on health and well-being of same-sex couples and provide a broader understanding of family life.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 77%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Same-Sex and Different-Sex Cohabiting Couple Relationship Stability

2016

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“…Our article adds to a small but growing literature on marriage-like contracts for same-sex couples afforded by the recent expansion of such rights (Burn and Jackson 2014;Carpenter and Gates 2008;Dillender 2014Dillender , 2015Langbein and Yost 2009;Trandafir 2015). Exploiting cross-sectional and time variation, a number of studies have found no evidence of the legalization of same-sex unions eroding traditional values as measured by marriage, divorce, or abortion rates.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…In that period, State-sanctioned persecution of Jews, lepers, male homosexuals, and heretics emerged to form what Moore (2007) coined "the prosecuting society." 4 For the United States, see Langbein andYost (2009) andDillender (2014). For the OECD, see Trandafir (2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Registered Partnership on Labor Earnings and Fertility for Same-Sex Couples: Evidence From Swedish Register Data

et al. 2015

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The expansion of legal rights to same-sex couples is a foot in a number of Western countries. The effects of this rollout are not only important in their own right but can also provide a window on the institution of marriage and the rights bundled therein. In this article, using Swedish longitudinal register data covering 1994-2007, we study the impact of the extension of rights to same-sex couples on labor earnings and fertility. In 1994, registered partnership for same-sex couples was introduced, which conferred almost all rights and obligations of marriage--a notable exception being joint legal parenting, by default or election. The latter was added in the 2002 adoption act. We find registered partnership to be important to both gays and lesbians but for different reasons. For gays, resource pooling emerges as the main function of registered partnerships. For lesbians, registered partnership appears to be an important vehicle for family formation, especially after the 2002 adoption act. In contrast to heterosexual couples (included for comparison), we find no evidence of household specialization among lesbians. The lack of specialization is noteworthy given similar fertility effects of registered partnership (after 2002) and the fact that lesbian couples were less assortatively matched (on education) than heterosexual couples--children and unequal earnings power being two factors commonly believed to promote specialization.

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“…A potential issue with including any variable to distinguish between married and unmarried opposite‐sex couples is that the laws may alter which category a couple fits into if the extensions in legal recognition affect marriage decisions for people in that state. In Dillender (), I find that extending marriage to same‐sex couples in the United States has had no effect on opposite‐sex marriage rates, but I do find that extending non‐marriage legal recognition to opposite‐sex couples results in a decline in the opposite‐sex marriage rate, likely because a portion of people who would have gotten married opt for non‐marriage legal recognition instead. When considering how legal recognition laws affect the stocks of marriage, I find little or no effect of any type of legal recognition laws, suggesting the pools of married couples are slow to change in any significant ways because there is already a high stock of married people…”

Section: Data and The Empirical Strategymentioning

confidence: 98%

Health Insurance and Labor Force Participation: What Legal Recognition Does for Same‐sex Couples

Dillender

2014

Contemporary Economic Policy

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Using Current Population Survey data, I examine how same‐sex couples' labor force participation and health insurance coverage change as a result of their unions being legally recognized. The results indicate female same‐sex couples switch from arrangements where both members work to arrangements where only one member of the couple works. Being able to gain health insurance through a spouse's employer seems to play a major role in this change. Male same‐sex couples experience no change in their labor force participation or health insurance. (JEL J08, I13, J18)

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The Death of Marriage? The Effects of New Forms of Legal Recognition on Marriage Rates in the United States

Cited by 32 publications

References 10 publications

Same-Sex and Different-Sex Cohabiting Couple Relationship Stability

Same-Sex and Different-Sex Cohabiting Couple Relationship Stability

Effect of Registered Partnership on Labor Earnings and Fertility for Same-Sex Couples: Evidence From Swedish Register Data

Health Insurance and Labor Force Participation: What Legal Recognition Does for Same‐sex Couples

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