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Not Your Lucky Day: Romantically and Numerically Special Wedding Date Divorce Risks

Author

Listed:
  • Jan Kabátek

    (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne; ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course; Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA); CentER, Tilburg University; and Netspar)

  • David C. Ribar

    (Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne; ARC Centre of Excellence for Children and Families over the Life Course; and Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA))

Abstract

Characteristics of couples on or about their wedding day and characteristics of weddings have been shown to predict marital outcomes. Little is known, however, about how the dates of the weddings predict marriage durability. Using Dutch marriage and divorce registries from 1999-2013, this study compares the durations of marriages that began on Valentine’s Day and numerically special days (dates with the same or sequential number values, e.g., 9.9.99, 1.2.03) with marriages on other dates. In the Netherlands, the incidence of weddings was 137-509% higher on special dates than ordinary dates, on an adjusted basis, and the hazard odds of divorce for special-date marriages were 18-36% higher. Sorting on couples’ observable characteristics accounts for part of this increase, but even after controlling for these characteristics, special-date marriages were more vulnerable, with 11-18% higher divorce odds compared to ordinary dates. This relation is even stronger for couples who have not married before.

Suggested Citation

  • Jan Kabátek & David C. Ribar, 2016. "Not Your Lucky Day: Romantically and Numerically Special Wedding Date Divorce Risks," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2016n28, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    • Handle: RePEc:iae:iaewps:wp2016n28
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    File URL: http://melbourneinstitute.unimelb.edu.au/downloads/working_paper_series/wp2016n28.pdf
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
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    Cited by:

    1. Jan Kabátek, 2018. "Divorced in a Flash: The Effect of the Administrative Divorce Option on Marital Stability in the Netherlands," Melbourne Institute Working Paper Series wp2018n12, Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research, The University of Melbourne.
    2. Andrew Grant & Steve Satchell, 2019. "Endogenous divorce risk and investment," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 32(3), pages 845-876, July.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Marriage; divorce; Valentine’s Day; commitment; weddings;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics

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