The effect of broadband internet on divorce in China

Abstract

There has been growing concern over the dramatically increasing number of divorces in China over the past two decades. We use provincial data from 2002 to 2014 to shed light examine what role the Internet has had on the number of divorces. We find that growing levels of broadband internet penetration and usage have significantly affected the propensity for divorce. The number of divorces grew by 0.008% for every 1% increase in the number of broadband subscribers. Instrumental variables estimation indicates that these effects are robust to possible spurious correlation. In addition, we identify three potential mechanisms that may be responsible for how broadband internet subscription affects the number of divorces. The impact of broadband internet subscription on divorce is larger in those areas with lower education levels as well as areas with a higher income growth rate, is positively affected by instant messaging services, and it plays a fundamental role in spreading information related to divorce. This paper not only explores the reasons why the number of divorces in China is increasing, but also makes marginal contributions to existing studies related to the impacts of improved technology on society.