The Stability of Co-residential Partnerships after First Birth: Did the 'Protective Effect of Marriage' Increase after 1989?

Abstract

The Stability of co-residential Partnerships after First Birth: did the 'Protective effect of Marriage' increase after 1989? abstract: This article investigates the stability of co-residential partnerships after first birth in the Czech Republic. It explores the 'marriage premium', which refers to the advantage that children born to married parents have in comparison to other parental arrangements, and also highlights change in the "marriage premium" after 1989. The analysis also examines the effect of marriage timing: Does the marriage premium differ between pre-birth and postbirth marriages? Did the effect of timing also change after 1989? The analysis is based on Czech GGS (Generations and Gender Survey) data from 2005. Direct marriages are the most stable unions, cohabitations are the least stable. Among couples who were not married, the odds of dissolution increased by 142 per cent (in comparison to marriages without pre-marital cohabitation). This 'marriage premium' increased after 1989. Marriage timing has come to play an increasingly important role. In the pre-1989 marriage cohort, pre-birth and post-birth marriage had the same stabilising effect. After 1989, however, pre-delivery wedding stabilises unions more than post-delivery legitimising marriages. We conclude that the era of highly individualised partnership choices has clearly shone a light on the consequences of these choices for subsequent union stability.