Reasons for the large rise in divorce rates since the 1970s

Background The family is the cell of a society and it is in a constantly changing institution. Since 1970s, the character and the structure of marriage have changed a lot. The best presentation is that in the last half century, marriage and fertility rates have fallen, divorce rates have raised on average, especially in the west countries.

In the above table, Southern European countries had the lowest divorce rates in 1970s; however, they experienced the largest increases of that over the period. The United States had the lowest increase in divorce rate from 1970 to 2007, but it stays at the top of the divorce rate of all countries in the list. The Canadian is also on the board: in 2007, the rate was 2.2, which in 150% of the rate in 1970. It should be noted that the increase in the divorce rate did not come from older couples but from the baby boom generation. According to a research of one sociologist at Stanford University, who concluded that while young men and women comprised only about 20 percent of the population, they accounted for 60 percent of the rise in the divorce rate after 1970s. ( Landon Jones, Great Expectations: America and the Baby Boom Generation (New York: Ballantine Books, 1980), 215.) From Sociology point of view, this increase can be attributed to two factors: valuation and opportunity. Different from their parents, the baby boomers attitude toward divorce, such as loyalty, chasteness, and commitment, is more wanton. Their parents believed marriage is sacred and would stay in until the last minute of their life. However, Baby boomers believe marriage is just a contract which has the expiry date, which is the time when they felt it was a

bad marriage. Additionally, while their parents wouldnt divorce for the sake of the kids, the baby boomers pursued more of their own happiness. This essay will concentrate more on the economic perspective which is another significant factor in divorce. The following aspects will be discussed in the following analysis: a) The effect of the Unilateral Divorce Laws on the divorce rate in the west countries; b) The rise in divorce closely parallels the increase in the number of women working. A study of mature women done at Ohio State University found that the higher a woman's income in relation to the total income of her family, the more likely she was to seek a divorce ( Ibid., 216.); c) Because expectation of marriage is rising, the mates in imperfect marriages try to continue searching while married;

d) Marriage-specic capital from one marriage can reduce the likelihood of success of a second marriage; e) The quality of the divorced population reduces the stigma toward divorce. 1. The effect of the Unilateral Divorce Laws on the divorce rate

In ten out of 18 countries, nofault divorce was already possible before 1960. All other countries had introduced nofault grounds by 1997. The Unilateral Divorce Laws, which are also called no-fault divorce law Traditionally, people think that marriage is for the whole life and shall be protected. The spouse seeking a divorce had to prove that the other spouse had committed one of the "faults" recognized as justifying the dissolution of the marriage. In most states, the classic grounds for divorce were cruelty, desertion, and adultery. This legal foundation changed when California enacted a statute in 1969 which allowed for nofault divorce. This experiment has effectively led to what could now be called "divorce-ondemand." One by one, various state legislatures enacted no-fault divorce laws so that today, this concept has become the de facto legal principle in every state. The fault-based system of divorce law had its roots in the view that marriage was a sacrament and indissoluble. The current no- fault provisions changed this perception. Marriage is no longer viewed as a covenant; it's a contract. But it's an even less reliable contract than a standard business contract. Classic contract law holds that a specific promise is binding and cannot be broken merely because the promisor changes his/her mind. In fact, the concept of "fault" in divorce proceedings is more like tort law than contract law in that it implies an binding obligation between two parties which has been breached, thus leading to a divorce. When state legislatures implemented no-fault divorce provisions, they could have replaced the fault-based

protections with contract-like protections. Unfortunately, they did not. In just a few decades we have moved from a position where divorce was permitted for a few reasons to a position in which divorce is permitted for any reason, or no reason at all. The impact on the institution of marriage has been devastating. Marginal marriages are much easier to dissolve, and couples who may have tried to stick it out and work out their problems instead opt for a no-fault divorce. But all marriages (not just marginal marriages) are at risk. After all, marriages do not start out marginal. Most marriages start out on a solid footing. But after the honeymoon, comes the more difficult process of learning to live together harmoniously. The success of the process is affected by both internal factors (willingness to meet each other's needs, etc.) and external factors (such as the availability of divorce). But even these factors are interrelated. If the law gives more protection to the marriage contract, a partner may be more likely to love sacrificially and invest effort in the marriage. If the law gives less protection, a partner may be more likely to adopt a "looking out for number one" attitude. 1. Scenario 2: women salary rise-reduce surplus of marriage The position of women is another reason that can be used when examining the changes in divorce rate. About 7 in 10 divorce applications are from women which is the complete opposite to the past. Women today are much more likely to be in paid work and therefore more economically stable. This leads women to be less financially dependent their partner. The availability of welfare benefits means that women no longer have to remain financially dependent on their husbands. These developments mean that women are now more likely to be able to support themselves if they divorce. Feminists also agree with the fact that changes in the position of women has led to an increase in divorce rates since 1970, they also argue that the fact that woman are now breadwinners as well as homemakers has created a new source of conflict between husband and wife and this also leads to the rise in divorces. Changes in the law explain part of why divorce was on the rise, but it does not tell the whole story. While the law was changing, society was also changing. Women became a strong presence in the workforce. They no longer depended on their husbands to support them. This independence allowed them to leave an unhappy marriage and still provide for themselves. A second cultural force that most observers believe played an important role in increasing divorce rates is the enormous increase in the participation of married women in the paid labour force. Economists suggest simply that such employment, being associated with a decline in marriage role specialization, leads to a decline in the benefits derived by the spouses from their marriage. A more feminist-friendly take on the same phenomenon argues that rising female employment increases the proportion of women who feel financially able to escape a bad marriage.

the wife with lower earning potential focuses on the familys domestic needs, the husba nd with higher earning potential focuses on realizing that greater potential, and both the spouses, and their children, benefit from the resulting returns to this specialization. When the earnings potential of women rises, the return to marital specialization declines (because the wifes opportunity cost for domestic specialization increases), and the appeal of marriage declines with it. The years during which wives increased their labor force participation were years during which many Americans experienced declining returns to each hour of market labor. As one might expect, wives full time labor force participation is higher, at most levels of husbands income, when they are better educated. The opportunity cost of the wifes withdrawal from full time work obviously increases, on average, with her level of education. it thus appears that as economic pressures on their choice lessen, American wives increasingly choose to work part time rather than full time, regardless of their educational level. 2. individuals may sort into marriages with people other than their perfect, be optimal for mates in imperfect marriages to continue searching while married One story assumes that few men will accept a financially dependent, domestic, marital role. So while successfully employed women may look for husbands more interested in child care than careers, they cannot find them. Some may then settle for a less ideal arrangement, even if it is not their first preference, because they regard remaining unmarried as even less desirable. Others may not marry. A final reason to look at when examining the changes in divorce rate is the rising expectation of marriage. Functionalists argue that the higher expectations people place on marriage today are a major cause of rising divorce rates. Fletcher argues that higher expectations make couples nowadays less willing to tolerate an unhappy marriage so therefore turn to divorce. In the past, individuals were unlikely to have the high expectations of marriage as a romantic union of two souls that many couples have today. Today marriage is increasingly viewed not as a binding contract, but as a relationship in which individuals seek personal fulfilment and this encourages divorce if they do not find it. Marriage is viewed as finding your soul mate so if the love disappears and youre living in an empty shell marriage the only option people see is divorce. 3. marriage-specic capital from one marriage can reduce the likelihood of success of a second marriage Fuchs found that the post-1980 gains were disproportionately the result of very large gains by women then younger than 40. These women on average had significantly fewer children, and were significantly more likely to divorce, than their older sisters. Fuchs concluded that this willingness to have fewer children, and forgo some family life, was the principal explanation for their enhanced economic success. Surveying the economic facts, more broadly, he found that womens greater willingness than men to make career sacrifices for their children was by far the most important source of their lower average earnings, swamping other factors such as employer discrimination

A divoiced women with children is more likely to devoice again. The household childlessness rate is strongly linked to the education level of women, as women with tertiary education are more likely to be in a childless household than women with secondary education in most OECD countries (Figure 1.3). This suggests that the increase in childlessness is more due to the consequences of women deferring childbirth or choosing not to have children, rather than being unable to conceive, as highly educated women choose e mployment over childbirth. The difference also suggests there is ongoing tension between employment and childbearing 4. s raises the quality of the divorced population and reduces effective stigma toward divorce Divorce also became more acceptable. Until the 1960s, divorce has been a relatively rare phenomenon. Certainly there have always been some couples who have considered divorce an option. But fundamental changes in our society in the last few decades have changed divorce from being rare to routine. There has been a declining stigma on divorce and many attitudes towards it have changed, this being another reason for the increase in divorce rate. Churches condemned divorce and before the 1970s there was a negative label on divorce. As the stigma declines and divorce becomes more socially acceptable, couples become more willing to turn to divorce as a means of solves their marital problems. The fact that divorce is now more common begins to normalise it and reduces the stigma attached to it. Due to the normalisation of divorce the traditional nuclear family is now less common, with studies showing that in 2002, 17,000 children are from separated for divorced parental homes. The guilt and fault of the old divorce laws were gone. As more couples separated, divorce gradually became a normal part of life. To conclude, when examining the reasons for the changes in divorce rate since 1970 you can see there are 5 different, significant factors which play a huge part in the increase in the divorce rates. Changes in the law, secularisation, declining stigma towards divorce, changes in the position of women and also the rising expectations of marriage are these factors. Each one had an effect on the divorce rate resulting in its peak in 1993 at 180,000. The factor which caused the greatest increase in the divorce rate was the introduction of new laws as each one made it easier to obtain a divorce, leading more people to do so. With the divorce reform act being passed in 1971, a year later the divorce rate had doubled.