2012-09-26

Divorce in China

Divorce falls in the United States when the economy weakens because household income declines. Women initiate about 70% of divorces and a smaller household income, plus lower home values, makes for less money from divorce proceedings.

In China, the economy remains strong, but what's probably occurring is similar to the earlier changes in the West. Communist China has no religious or moral prohibition against divorce and now that peoples' incomes have risen, they can afford divorce. Thus, we see the divorce rate exploding upwards among younger Chinese.
Mainland's soaring divorce rate spurs speculation on causes
One internet user in Shanghai noted that the city's average housing prices surged to 25,778 yuan (HK$31,540) per square metre last year - up from 10,574 yuan in 2009, an increase that parallels the rise in the local divorce rate, according to the Modern Express.
It's not that home prices make it hard to buy a home, leading to divorce. It's that high home prices create a valuable asset that can be split 50/50.

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