Abstract
leads to more satisfactory subjective well-being or because happier people are more likely to find a partner. We analyze Dutch panel data to investigate whether there is a causal effect of partnership on subjective well-being. Our data allow us to distinguish between marriage and cohabitation and between same-sex partnerships and opposite-sex ones. Our results support the short-term crisis model and adaptation theory. We find that marital partnership improves well-being and that these benefits are homogeneous to sexual orientation. The well-being gains of marriage are larger than those of cohabitation. Investigating partnership formation and disruption, we discover that the well-being effects are symmetric. Finally, we find that marriage improves well-being for both younger and older cohorts while cohabitation only benefits younger cohort.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Place of Publication | Tilburg |
| Publisher | CentER, Center for Economic Research |
| Number of pages | 31 |
| Volume | 2017-041 |
| Publication status | Published - 21 Sep 2017 |
Publication series
| Name | CentER Discussion Paper |
|---|---|
| Volume | 2017-041 |
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Keywords
- subjective well-being
- Happiness
- marriage
- Cohabitation
- sexuel orientation
Cite this
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Subjective Well-being and Partnership Dynamics; Are Same-sex Relationships Different? / Chen, Shuai; van Ours, Jan.
Tilburg : CentER, Center for Economic Research, 2017. (CentER Discussion Paper; Vol. 2017-041).Research output: Working paper › Discussion paper › Other research output
TY - UNPB
T1 - Subjective Well-being and Partnership Dynamics; Are Same-sex Relationships Different?
AU - Chen, Shuai
AU - van Ours, Jan
PY - 2017/9/21
Y1 - 2017/9/21
N2 - Partnered individuals are happier than singles. This can be because partnershipleads to more satisfactory subjective well-being or because happier people are more likely to find a partner. We analyze Dutch panel data to investigate whether there is a causal effect of partnership on subjective well-being. Our data allow us to distinguish between marriage and cohabitation and between same-sex partnerships and opposite-sex ones. Our results support the short-term crisis model and adaptation theory. We find that marital partnership improves well-being and that these benefits are homogeneous to sexual orientation. The well-being gains of marriage are larger than those of cohabitation. Investigating partnership formation and disruption, we discover that the well-being effects are symmetric. Finally, we find that marriage improves well-being for both younger and older cohorts while cohabitation only benefits younger cohort.
AB - Partnered individuals are happier than singles. This can be because partnershipleads to more satisfactory subjective well-being or because happier people are more likely to find a partner. We analyze Dutch panel data to investigate whether there is a causal effect of partnership on subjective well-being. Our data allow us to distinguish between marriage and cohabitation and between same-sex partnerships and opposite-sex ones. Our results support the short-term crisis model and adaptation theory. We find that marital partnership improves well-being and that these benefits are homogeneous to sexual orientation. The well-being gains of marriage are larger than those of cohabitation. Investigating partnership formation and disruption, we discover that the well-being effects are symmetric. Finally, we find that marriage improves well-being for both younger and older cohorts while cohabitation only benefits younger cohort.
KW - subjective well-being
KW - Happiness
KW - marriage
KW - Cohabitation
KW - sexuel orientation
M3 - Discussion paper
VL - 2017-041
T3 - CentER Discussion Paper
BT - Subjective Well-being and Partnership Dynamics; Are Same-sex Relationships Different?
PB - CentER, Center for Economic Research
CY - Tilburg
ER -