The Effect of Joint Custody on Family Outcomes

Abstract

Since the 1970s almost all US states have introduced a form of joint custody after divorce. I analyze the causal effect of these custody law reforms on different family outcomes. My identification strategy exploits the different timing of reforms across the US states. Estimations based on state panel data suggest that the introduction of joint custody led to an increase in marriage rates, an increase in overall fertility (including a shift from nonmarital to marital fertility), and an increase in divorce rates for older couples. Accordingly, female labor market participation decreased. Further, male suicide rates and domestic violence fell in treated states. The empirical evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that joint custody increased the relative bargaining power of men within marriage.

Do joint custody laws improve family well-being?

“…Spouses who divorced in 2000 or later are 23% more likely to share custody than spouses who divorced before 1976. These findings are in line with those reported in [1] on the determinants of joint physical custody based on micro-level divorce certificate data for 1989-1995 from the US National Vital Statistics System. (These data were no longer collected after 1995.)…”

“…While joint custody laws have improved the situation of divorced fathers, recent empirical research has documented intended and unintended consequences of joint custody laws for families in such areas as family formation, labor force participation, suicide, domestic violence, and child outcomes. Source: Based on regressions analysis presented in Table 6 of [1]. Years before and after joint custody reform Martin Halla | Do joint custody laws improve family well-being?…”

Breaks in the breaks: An analysis of divorce rates in Europe

“…1 Others determinants of divorce suggested in the literature are economic growth (South, 1985), price stability (Nunley, 2009), unemployment (Jensen andSmith, 1990), female labour force participation (Allen, 1998), public transfers, tax laws and welfare reforms (Bitler et al, 2004;Tjøtta and Vaage, 2008), property distribution within marriage (Gray, 1998), child support enforcement (Nixon 1997;Heim 2003), child custody (Halla, 2009), fertility behaviour (Svarer and Verner, 2008), religiosity (Vaaler et al, 2009), television (Chong and La Ferrara, 2009), among others.…”

Cleaning in the Shadow of the Law? Bargaining, Marital Investment, and the Impact of Divorce Law on Husbands’ Intrahousehold Work

“…Halla (2013) finds that joint custody laws lead to increased divorce rates as well as reductions in domestic violence and male suicide, while work by Nunley and Seals (2011) and Altindag et al (2015) indicates that joint custody laws lead to increased market work for mothers and paternal work in the home.…”