Extramarital affairs, marital satisfaction, and divorce : evidence from Hong Kong

Document Type

Journal article

Source Publication

Contemporary Economic Policy

Publication Date

10-1-2004

Volume

22

Issue

4

First Page

442

Last Page

452

Abstract

This article provides the first empirical study on how the perceived changes of marital satisfaction affect marital stability using a unique data set obtained in Hong Kong. It is found that the change of marital satisfaction due to extramarital affairs clearly increases the probability of divorce, but it is not the only determinant of marital instability. In particular, the presence of dependent children in a family and good marital quality before the discovery of extramarital affairs would lower the probability of divorce. Moreover, this article generates several interesting policy implications.

DOI

10.1093/cep/byh033

Print ISSN

10743529

E-ISSN

14657287

Publisher Statement

Copyright © Western Economic Association International 2004

Access to external full text or publisher's version may require subscription.

Full-text Version

Publisher’s Version

Language

English

Recommended Citation

Fan, C. S., & Lui, H.-K. (2014). Extramarital affairs, marital satisfaction, and divorce: Evidence from Hong Kong. Contemporary Economic Policy, 22(4), 442-453. doi: 10.1093/cep/byh033

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