COVID-19 and Changes in the Household: Fertility, Divorce, and Domestic Violence

As the COVID-19 pandemic has imposed heavy costs on health, well-being, and economic performance around the world, concerns about how this context affects families and households have arisen. This chapter reviews the literature on how the COVID-19 pandemic, and the resulting increased economic uncertainty, school closures, and reduced access to child care, affects various aspects of households’ lives. First, the effect on fertility is discussed, then the chapter analyzes the effect of the pandemic on partnership formation and dissolution. The third part of the chapter explores the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on domestic violence.