DETERMINANTS OF DIVORCE IN TURKEY: PANEL DATA ANALYSIS

Abstract

In today's world, the phenomenon of divorce has been simplified into a something fashionable with the effects of social transformation and become a rapidly growing social problem. Understanding the phenomenon of divorce and accurately analyzing the rapid growth in crude divorce rates in Turkey depends on the isolation of the factors which cause the couples to terminate their family unions. The purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of crude divorce rates in all of Turkey on the basis of 26 sub-regions, for the period of 2007-2015. It is thought that the study will make a serious contribution to the available literature by virtue of highlighting regional differences and being comprehensive. Our analysis utilizes panel datasets based on labor force status, education level and the country?s overall development level. In this study, we propose seven different models using fixed and random effects panel regression models. To broadly share our findings, female labor force participation rates and unemployment rates increase the rate of crude divorce. An adverse relationship was found between male unemployment rates and crude divorce rates. When we looked at education, we observed that an increase in women's education levels increased crude divorce rates in Turkey. We find a positive correlation between per capita electricity consumption and crude divorce rates. Moreover, we show that there are significant regional differences between the East and the West of Turkey insofar as divorce rates are concerned.