Family Formation and Dissolution During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence From South Korea

초록

This study explores the short-term effects of COVID-19 on marriage and divorce rates in Korea. We document a 9.6-13.9% reduction in the provincial crude marriage rate in March-June 2020 after the surge in COVID-19 cases. On top of this overall decline, a one-unit increase in the number of confirmed cases per 1,000 people in a given province decreased the marriage rate by 3.8-6.2%. The crude divorce rate decreases by 3.2-7.1% after the surge of COVID-19. Our results imply that the decline in marriage rates due to COVID-19 can lead to a significant decrease in fertility rates in the near future.

키워드