Patricia Morgan
Barlow and Duncan
Beck & Beck-Gernstein
Sarah Corse et al.
Epstein
Berthoud
Sue Sharpe
Rector
Hart
Beaujouan and Ni Bhrolchain
Murphy
Married men were more likely to be employed than cohabiting couples and earning 10-20% more.
Social policies such as the Child Support Agency encourages lone-parenthood which damages marriage.
Many people want a lavish wedding but are unable to afford it so would rather cohabit.
Working-class men and women were less likely to marry.
arranged marriages tend to grow more stable over time while love marriages are more likely to deteriorate.
Divorce is a reaction that many wives feel from having to do the ‘triple shift’.
1970 -> marriage, husband, children. 1990 -> careers, being able to support themselves.
Cohabitation is simply delaying marriage and is not the cause for the decline.
¾ of Bangladeshi and Pakistani women married by the time they were 25.
There may be a correlation between unmarried parents and children doing worse in school.
Rising divorce rates are due to growing individualisation.