23/07/13
http://pages.towson.edu/FChriste/PillPart_final.pdfThe above link is to a paper investigating the impact of cohabitation behaviour of the introduction and dispersion of the birth control pill in the 1960s and early 1970s. The evidence shows that the pill was a catalyst that increased cohabitation's role in selecting marriage partners, but it did little in the short run to promote cohabitation as a substitute for marriage.
Christensen argues that the Pill "stripped away one of the foundations for the taboo against pre-marital sex, the fear of illegitimate children." By divorcing contraception from intercourse the Pill lowered the risk of pregnancy, encouraging the "net benefits of cohabitation."
He also argues that the attractiveness of non-marital relationships after the widespread distribution of the Pill relative to marriage increased "selectivity into marriage." He asserts that the Pill "indirectly encouraged cohabitation since cohabitation is a useful means to assess compatibility prior to marriage."
It was really interesting to read a paper that both focused on statistical data indicating an increase in cohabitation and the reasons for this increase. His theory on selectivity into marriage market walks hand in hand with Goldin and Katz's papers on the subject, providing a valuable insight on the impact of the widespread distribution of the Pill on partnership choices.
