Determinants of Union Dissolution and Remarriage in India: Evidence from the National Family Health Survey

Abstract

Although rates of union dissolution due to divorce, desertion or separation are very low in India, the number of such women is quite large. Existing studies have established that union dissolution affects welfare of women substantially. Women facing dissolution may opt to remarry but that has its own challenges given the patriarchal nature of the Indian society. The analysis of determinants of union dissolution and remarriage in India is necessary to identify the groups at risk, and is also an underresearched area that needs to be supplemented by further studies. The present study uses the fifth round of the National Family Health Survey data undertaken in 2019-20 to analyze the incidence of union dissolution and remarriage among ever married women in India, its variation over socio-economic correlates and to identify its determinants. The econometric analysis is based on a sequential logit model. The study finds that the likelihood of dissolution is relatively higher among poor and less educated women, those belonging to the minority communities, and who are childless or there is an absence of sons amongst the children born. Remarriage, on the other hand, is not a socially driven phenomenon and depends largely on the personal choice of the woman. The results of this study imply that the adverse impact of dissolution will be magnified as dissolution is more likely among women who are already vulnerable. It calls for providing legal protection to women being abandoned and divorced, and introducing measures to ensure their socio-economic welfare.