Think-tank, The Marriage Foundation, has published a report that claims there is no real link between the incidence of divorce and recession.
Previous reports on the subject have proved to be contradictory, claims the Foundation. Relationship organisations believe that divorce numbers increase during a recession because relationships are strained by worries over money. However, family lawyers claim that divorce numbers actually go down during a recession, because couples can’t afford a divorce or the additional expenses that result from a relationship breakdown.
Harry Benson of The Marriage Foundation claims to have conducted research that shows that neither of the above arguments is correct, because there is no link between divorce and recession.
“There is no evidence whatsoever to link either economic growth or stock market performance with changes in divorce rates,” he said.
The Marriage Foundation research shows that during the three periods of economic decline since 1979, divorce rates have risen in two cases and fallen in one case.
The 2008 crisis has coincided with a slight fall in the divorce rate, but over the two previous recessions in 1980 and 1991, marriage breakdown rose.
Similarly in times of economic prosperity, the divorce rate fluctuations have been entirely random. The boom in 2003 saw an overall rise of 5% in divorces from the previous year, whereas the 1994 boom saw rates fall 3%. In 1983, a period of strong economic growth, there was no change overall.
"To see the real trend, you need to follow the couples who marry in any particular year and compare how they fare over time against couples who married in other years. Only then can you see the real picture, which is that divorce rates are falling entirely because couples are doing better in the early years. For couples married ten years or more, divorce rates haven’t changed in decades," he explained
