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Abstract
Why do some single parents marry while others choose to cohabit or remain single? To address this question, I analyze an experiment in two Canadian provinces that provides evidence on the economic rationale for marriage and a study of new parents in U.S. cities that provides evidence on non-economic motives for marriage.
Using data from the Canadian experiment, I explore the effects of an earnings supplement offer on marriage and cohabitation among a sample of 4,961 single parents. I find that in one province, the earnings supplement offer increased rates of marriage and cohabitation; but in the other province the earnings supplement decreased the rate of marriage. After eliminating several possible explanations for these opposite effects, I suggest that the different results in the two provinces were related to policy and normative contexts and to the desirability of economically secure women in a weak labor market. The opposite effects in the two provinces suggest that prior research on women's economic independence and marriage conducted at the national level may mask variation, perhaps opposite and offsetting effects, at a more local level.
Using data on 2,247 pairs of unmarried parents in U.S. cities, I explore explanations for the low rate of marriage among African-American parents compared with white and Hispanic parents. I find that measures of the specialization and companionate rationales for marriage explain a large portion of the racial difference in rates of marriage. Analyzing data from pairs of unmarried mothers and fathers, I find that fathers' rationale for marriage is more predictive of marital behavior than mothers' among couples who are not living together. This finding is significant because these fathers have typically been omitted from prior research.
My findings show that the effect of economic circumstances on marriage varies by local context, that taking into account the non-economic motives for marriage explains more than economic circumstances alone, and that including the perspective of the male partner is important in understanding marital behavior.
