Between Dec 19, 2024 and Jan 2, 2025, datasets can be submitted to DRUM but will not be processed until after the break. Staff will not be available to answer email during this period, and will not be able to provide DOIs until after Jan 2. If you are in need of a DOI during this period, consider Dryad or OpenICPSR. Submission responses to the UDC may also be delayed during this time.
 

Living Together - Essays on Cohabitation

Loading...
Thumbnail Image

Persistent link to this item

Statistics
View Statistics

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Title

Living Together - Essays on Cohabitation

Published Date

2016-07

Publisher

Type

Thesis or Dissertation

Abstract

This thesis studies cohabitation behavior in the United States, and proposes two answers as to why cohabitation rate increased in the last four decades. In Chapter 1, I propose that the increasing value of economies of scale can contribute to this increase in cohabitation. In Chapter 2, I propose that declining migration could have been a factor. In Chapter 1, I use the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 to document that even from before the start of cohabitation, cohabitors who eventually marry their partners and cohabitors who do not have different labor supply and wages. I find that those who cohabit and eventually marry work on average six hours more per week than those who cohabit but will not marry. I estimate that every hour worked per week in the year prior to the start of cohabitation increases the probability of transition into marriage by .7\%. Additionally, I find that lower wages prior to the start of cohabitation are associated with a lower probability of transitioning into marriage. I develop a theory of co-residential relationship formation where lower wages increase the value of living together, leading to less selectivity in match quality and thus a lower transition probability into marriage. Singles who have higher hours worked have higher disutility to begin a relationship along with higher income, leading to higher selectivity in match quality and thus a higher probability of transitioning into marriage. I show that lower real wages in the last five decades can explain the trends in cohabitation and marriage for college and non-college graduates. Finally, I suggest that changes to the incentives to form a co-residential relationship create an additional channel where urban poverty programs can affect welfare. In Chapter 2, I compare the migration and cohabitation behaviors between the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 and 1997 cohorts. I document that for both cohorts, college graduates migrate more and cohabit less than non-college graduates. I hypothesize that having a higher probability of a future migration decreases the likelihood of cohabiting, as cohabitation can be seen as a form of settling down. I find that college graduates are more likely to move out of county or state. I also find that having a big move in the future decreases the odds of cohabiting. This can explain the cross-sectional difference between non-college and college graduates cohabitation rate. Comparing across cohorts and using the Census Bureau Current Population Survey, I find that cohabitation has increased and migration has decreased. This implies declining migration could also have contributed to the increase in cohabitation.

Description

University of Minnesota Ph.D. dissertation. July 2016. Major: Economics. Advisors: Victor Rios Rull, Larry Jones. 1 computer file (PDF); x, 70 pages.

Related to

Replaces

License

Collections

Series/Report Number

Funding information

Isbn identifier

Doi identifier

Previously Published Citation

Other identifiers

Suggested citation

Wong, Kelvin. (2016). Living Together - Essays on Cohabitation. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/182231.

Content distributed via the University Digital Conservancy may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor. By using these files, users agree to the Terms of Use. Materials in the UDC may contain content that is disturbing and/or harmful. For more information, please see our statement on harmful content in digital repositories.