Template-Type: ReDIF-Paper 1.0
Series: Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers
Creation-Date: 2017-09-22
Number: 17-088/V
Author-Name: Shuai Chen
Author-Email: s.chen_2@tilburguniversity.edu
Author-Workplace-Name: CentER, Tilburg University, the Netherlands
Author-Name: Jan (J.C.) van Ours
Author-Email: vanours@ese.eur.nl
Author-Workplace-Name: Erasmus School of Economics; Tinbergen Institute, The Netherlands
Title: Subjective Well-being and Partnership Dynamics; Are Same-Sex Relationships Different?
Abstract: Partnered individuals are happier than singles. This can be because partnership leads to more satisfactory subjective well-being or because happier people are more likely to find a partner. We analyze Dutch panel data to investigate whether there is a causal effect of partnership on subjective well-being. Our data allow us to distinguish between marriage and cohabitation and between same-sex partnerships and opposite-sex ones. Our results support the short-term crisis model and adaptation theory. We find that marital partnership improves well-being and that these benefits are homogeneous to sexual orientation. The well-being gains of marriage are larger than those of cohabitation. Investigating partnership formation and disruption, we discover that the well-being effects are symmetric. Finally, we find that marriage improves well-being for both younger and older cohorts while cohabitation only benefits younger cohort.
Classification-JEL: J12
Keywords: Subjective well-being, Happiness, Marriage, Cohabitation, Sexual orientation
File-Url: https://papers.tinbergen.nl/17088.pdf
File-Format: application/pdf
File-Size: 424176 bytes
Handle: RePEc:tin:wpaper:20170088