You Shouldn't Tell Your Spouse If You Win the Lotto 1st Prize... Divorce Rates Increase

Divorce Rate Rises Due to 'Property Rights Conflict' Issues
Higher Marriage Possibility if Single
Survey and Analysis of 888,000 People Over 20 Years

A U.S. study has revealed that divorce rates actually increase after winning the lottery. However, the likelihood of marriage appears to increase.

According to the latest international academic information from the Bank of Korea Economic Research Institute on the 5th, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, recently published a research report titled "The Impact of Financial Resources on Homeownership, Marriage, and Fertility: Evidence from State Lotteries."

A study has revealed that the divorce rate actually increases after winning the lottery because conflicts arise during the process of dividing the winnings.

The study economically analyzed how the lives of lottery winners, who received a large income without external variables, changed compared to those who did not win. The researchers surveyed 888,000 individuals aged 25 to 44 who purchased state lottery tickets in the U.S. from 2000 to 2019 and won at least $1,000. Based on this, they analyzed the rates of change in marriage, childbirth, and homeownership during the year of winning and the following five years.

As a result, it was found that the divorce rate among married lottery winners increased. In particular, for low-income married women, the probability of maintaining their marriage decreased by 2.15 percentage points in the year they won. Over the following five years, the annual marriage maintenance rate decreased by up to 3.74 percentage points.

For women with median or higher income, the decrease rate was minimal at about 1 percentage point during the winning year and the following three years. For men, lottery winnings did not significantly affect marriage maintenance. Male lottery winners showed marriage maintenance rates ranging between -1 percentage point and 1 percentage point annually for five years after winning, regardless of income.

The reason for the increased divorce rate was analyzed as a "property rights friction" issue. In states where property division upon divorce is 50/50 by law, the divorce rate of winners was noticeably lower compared to states where there is no need to split property evenly.

The researchers explained, "We found no evidence that the financial difference (from winning the lottery) stabilizes marriage," adding, "It may rather be the opposite."

For unmarried winners, the marriage rate increased. About one in ten married within one year of winning, and this rate is similar to the typical marriage probability over three years under normal circumstances. Especially, the younger the age, the greater the effect on increased marriage rates and the higher the likelihood of sustained marriage in the future.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.