Paul Phillips wrote: Why should this surprise anyone? Every labour economist worth her salt knows that unemployment and job loss is a major factor in family breakup as is suicide, alcoholism, mental illness and crime, all of which are correlated/related to the incidence of family breakup.
This story concerned a reverse causation -- that family stability inhibits labor flexibility. In our own recent hiring experience at Chico State, an inordinate number of good candidates proved unhirable because of the need to accommodate a spouse. In a similar vein, Andrew Oswald showed a correlation between home ownership and unemployment presumably because people with phones are less likely to pick up and leave. -- Michael Perelman Economics Department California State University michael at ecst.csuchico.edu Chico, CA 95929 530-898-5321 fax 530-898-5901 michaelperelman.wordpress.com
