The Impact of No-Fault Unilateral Divorce Laws on Divorce Rates in Mexico

Abstract

Between 2008 and 2017, Mexican states introduced no-fault unilateral divorce, which allowed married individuals to seek a divorce without the consent of their spouse. In this paper, we exploit variation in the state-level adoption of the reforms to investigate the consequences of the divorce law liberalization. Based on an event study design, our results suggest that no-fault divorce dramatically increased divorce rates in the 3 years following the reform. We next consider how the reform affected divorce filings and divorce settlements. We find that no-fault divorce increased individual divorce filings, especially among women, and lowered the frequency of spousal alimony payments.