arXiv subjects

Stefan Hubner

Publications and source records attributed to Stefan Hubner.

2 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Can looser ties sustain marriage? A dynamic matching model of specialisation and divorce

Durable marriages are presumed to foster the household specialisation that marriage enables. We exploit a recent Dutch reform that temporarily lowered the cost of divorce while leaving consent requirements unchanged. We embed divorce hazards obtained from population-level administrative data into a dynamic structural matching model in which individuals repeatedly match and choose marital roles. We identify the structural parameters by fitting the model to the equilibrium matching distribution over time, using a novel computational approach. Compared to the high-cost counterfactual, we find that more couples choose marriage when divorce costs are lower, as higher rates of marriage entry outweigh the rise in divorce. Because specialisation is preserved, aggregate welfare rises.

econ.EM↗

arXiv2026

It's complicated: A Non-parametric Test of Preference Stability between Singles and Couples

This paper develops a method to use singles' data in a non-parametric revealed preference setting of collective household choice. We use it to test the controversial assumption of preference stability between singles and couples, without data on intra-household allocation or marital transitions. We show that, under the preference-stability hypothesis, consumption choices from an endogenously matched population admit a conditional random-utility representation over counterfactual pairings of couples and singles. Preference stability is testable as a feasibility restriction on the observed marginal choice distributions. We reject the hypothesis using consumption data from the Dutch LISS, the Russian RLMS, and the Spanish ECPF panels.

econ.EM↗