The More the Merrier? The Effect of Children on Divorce in a Pronatalist Society

E. Endeweld, A. Herbst-Debby

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

While most studies on the effect of children on divorce focus on countries with fertility levels below or near replacement level, we explore whether the stabilizing effect of children on marriage holds in the OECD country with the highest fertility rate – Israel. This high rate allowed us to examine the non-linear effects of having many children on divorce. We also examined whether the pattern of this relationship depends on the couple’s ethnic and economic position. Based on a dataset which merged administrative data from the tax authorities with the National Insurance Institute database, we took a random sample of 25% of all women who married in 2003 and followed them until 2015. Findings for the total sample revealed a positive, albeit non-linear, effect of number of children on divorce, while young children at home decreased divorce risks. However, the effect of number of children on the likelihood to divorce was dependent upon income and ethnic group. Children stabilized marriage among Israeli-Palestinians and destabilized it among Israeli-Jews, though with decreasing effects from the first to the third child. Findings are discussed with regard to the importance of examining relations between children and divorce across groups in the society.
Original languageAmerican English
Title of host publicationDivorce in Europe
Subtitle of host publicationNew Insights in Trends, Causes and Consequences of Relation Break-ups
Editors Dimitri Mortelmans
PublisherSpringer
Pages123-143
ISBN (Electronic) 3-030-25837-8
ISBN (Print) 3030258386
StatePublished - 2020

Publication series

NameEuropean Studies of Population
Volume21

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