Since January 1999, all parents in Norway with children aged 1 to 3 years who do not attend publicly subsidized day care are eligible for "cash-for-care" (CFC). One important purpose of the reform is to enable parents to spend more time with their children. We analyze whether the CFC reform has affected marital stability, using…

Used combined questionnaire and register data on 39,000 Norwegian men and women to show that psychological well-being was strong predictor of subsequent marital dissolution over 2- to 4-year period. Strength of relationship was particularly strong in short run but remained significant throughout period of observation. (Author/NB)