[Divorce rate increases if the index of consumer sentiment declines]

"The development of the total divorce rate (the sum of the marriage-duration specific divorce rates) [in the Netherlands] in the years 1973-1992 can be explained by an index of consumer sentiments, viz. the index of the willingness to buy (lagged one year).... The index of the willingness to buy explains the strong increase of the divorce rate in the early 1980s, the decrease in the mid 1980s and the strong increase in 1992." (SUMMARY IN ENG)