Marriage and divorce during a pandemic: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on marital formation and dissolution in Mexico.
Lauren Hoehn-VelascoJose Roberto Balmori de la MiyarAdan Silverio-MurilloSherajum Monira FarinPublished in: Review of economics of the household (2023)
In this study, we consider the initial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on family formation and dissolution. We use national microdata covering all marriages and divorces in Mexico, an event-study design and a difference-in-difference specification. Our findings indicate that over March through December of 2020, marriage rates declined by 54% and divorce rates by 43%. By the end of 2020, divorce rates recover back to baseline levels, but marriage rates remain 30% below the 2017-2019 baseline level. Overall, our findings suggest that marital dissolutions quickly recovered (6 months into the pandemic), but at the end of 2020, family formation remained at persistently lower levels.
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