TY  - RPRT
        AU  - Greenwood, Jeremy
AU  - Guner, Nezih
AU  - Kopecky, Karen A.
        TI  - The Wife's Protector: A Quantitative Theory Linking Contraceptive Technology with the Decline in Marriage
        PY  - 2019/Nov/
        PB  - Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)
        CY  - Bonn
        T2  - IZA Discussion Paper
        IS  - 12760
        UR  - https://www.iza.org/publications/dp12760
        AB  - The 19th and 20th centuries saw a transformation in contraceptive technologies and their take up. This led to a sexual revolution, which witnessed a rise in premarital sex and out-of-wedlock births, and a decline in marriage. The impact of contraception on married and single life is analyzed here both theoretically and quantitatively. The analysis is conducted using a model where people search for partners. Upon finding one, they can choose between abstinence, marriage, and a premarital sexual relationship. The model is confronted with some stylized facts about premarital sex and marriage over the course of the 20th century. Some economic history is also presented.
        KW  - number of partners
KW  - never-married population
KW  - history
KW  - contraceptive technology
KW  - age of marriage
KW  - out-of-wedlock births
KW  - premarital sex
KW  - singles
        ER  -