"This study argues that, given the tax deductibility of alimony payments in the United States, higher marginal federal income tax rates may reduce the expected transactions costs of divorce and act thereby to increase the divorce rate. After allowing for a variety of other factors, including inflation, female labor force participation, AIDS, the Vietnam War, age, the availability of legal assistance, and transfer payments, both first-differences estimates and Granger-causality tests strongly support the hypothesis."