Income and Independence Effects on Marital Dissolution: Results from the Seattle and Denver Income-Maintenance Experiments

Using data from the Seattle and Denver Income-Maintenance Experiments, this paper discusses the effects of income and changes in income on marital dissolution. In an earlier article, we presented evidence of an experimental impact on marital dissolution and discussed how the pattern of effects found could be accounted for by nonlinear income and independence effects. The income effect decrease the marital dissolution rate by increasing the family's economic well being. The independence effect increase the dissolution rate by reducing the economic dependence of the more dependent partner (usually the wife) on the marriage. In this article, we present a model of nonlinear income and independence effects that accounts for much of the experimental-control difference reported in the earlier paper. According to the model, the effect of an income-maintenance program on marital dissolution depends not only upon the magnitude of the payment a couple receives but also on their level of income before the program, the level of the wife's independence, and the magnitude of the change in the wife's independence.