Lottery-Winning Women Twice as Likely to Decide on Divorce... Men Oppose?

For Married Men, Divorce Probability Decreases by 40%
Low-Income Households More Affected by Misfortune Than Windfalls

A study on lottery participants in Sweden found that the risk of divorce sharply increased for female winners, while male winners experienced a decreased risk of divorce and higher birth rates.

According to foreign media including The Guardian on the 6th, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) recently published a report titled "The Impact of Wealth on Marriage and Fertility," which tracked people who won the 1 million kronor (approximately 130 million KRW) lottery in Sweden over the past decade, revealing these results.

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When a lottery windfall ranged from $100,000 to $500,000 (130 million to 655 million KRW), the short-term likelihood of divorce roughly doubled. This trend was more pronounced among low-income women or women earning less than their husbands.

However, the researchers added, "In low-income households, negative events have a greater disruptive effect on marriage than receiving a windfall."

For married men, the chance of divorce decreased by 40% upon winning the lottery. Unmarried men had a 30% higher chance of marrying within five years.

David Dessalines, an economics professor at New York University who participated in the study, said, "Lottery winnings significantly changed people's marital lives," adding, "In the long term, male winners experienced reduced divorce risk and higher fertility, leading to stable marriages and family formation."

According to this study, whether gaining money through a windfall or losing money due to adverse events, both scenarios can affect marital life. Dr. Dessalines explained, "Both losing and gaining money can reveal flaws in marriages that were previously endured or ignored."

Similar results were found in another study. In January, NBER released a report titled "The Impact of Financial Resources on Homeownership, Marriage, and Fertility: Evidence from State Lotteries," analyzing men and women aged 25 to 44 who won at least $1,000 (about 1.3 million KRW) in state lotteries in the United States from 2000 to 2019.

The study found that divorce rates increased among married lottery winners. For low-income married women, the probability of maintaining their marriage decreased by 2.15 percentage points in the year they won. Additionally, divorce rates were noticeably higher in states where property division upon divorce was not a 50-50 split.

The researchers also concluded, "We found no evidence that financial differences (such as lottery winnings) stabilize marriages," and diagnosed that "it might even be the opposite."

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