The Impact of Parents' and Spouses' Education on Divorce Rates in Norway

According to both economic and sociological theory, a couple's divorce rate may be influenced by their own educational attainment, that of their parents, and whether they have taken further education after marriage, although predictions are ambiguous. However, these three variables have never been included simultaneously and few studies have included both partners' characteristics. A discrete-time hazard model based on register and census data on 54178 Norwegian first marriages started 1980-1999 reveals a very strong negative educational gradient in divorce risk and no particularly harmful influence of heterogamy. Parent's education exerts a small positive effect, however. Among couples with the same current level of education, those who have taken education after entry into marriage display the highest divorce rate. 1 Division for Social and Demographic Research, Statistics Norway, PO Box 8131 Dep, 0033 Oslo, Noway. E-mail: [email protected] Demographic Research – Volume 10, Article 5 122 http://www.demographic-research.org