The flip side of marital specialization: the gendered effect of divorce on living standards and labor supply

Bonnet, Carole; Garbinti, Bertrand; Solaz, Anne

doi:10.1007/s00148-020-00786-2

Cited by 21 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 52 publications

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“…Union dissolution has large financial consequences for women. Women lose 7% to 44% of their household income following union dissolution (Andreß et al, 2006 ; Bonnet et al, 2021 ; De Vaus et al, 2017 ; Holden & Smock, 1991 ; Uunk, 2004 ) and these losses often persist for several years (Leopold, 2018 ). Especially compared to men, who experience little change, union dissolution is a critical event for women’s standard of living.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Women in low-income unions appear more vulnerable to the consequences of dissolution than women in high-income unions, because they are less often dual earners, tend to assume a larger share of housework and childcare, and are more likely to become the sole custodial parent after dissolution (Cancian et al, 2014 ; Harkness, 2013 ; Mansour & McKinnish, 2014 ). While they might benefit from increases in public transfers, these increases are often limited (Bonnet et al, 2021 ; Tach & Eads, 2015 ). Therefore, theory predicts that socioeconomic differences in women’s living standards widen following union dissolution.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Surprisingly, however, a vast literature documents that income losses related to union dissolution are concentrated in women from high-income unions (Bonnet et al, 2021 ; Brewer & Nandi, 2014 ; Duncan & Hoffman, 1985 ; Fisher & Low, 2016 ; Jarvis & Jenkins, 1999 ; Rowe & Lown, 1990 ; Uunk, 2004 ; Weiss, 1984 ; Weitzman, 1981 ). Whereas women from high-income unions witness steep declines in their standard of living, women from low-income unions witness little change or even improve their situation somewhat.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Why do Socioeconomic Differences in Women’s Living Standards Converge After Union Dissolution?

Hogendoorn

2022

Eur J Population

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Union dissolution is a critical event for women’s living standards. Previous work has found that women in high-income unions lose more from union dissolution than women in low-income unions. This study proposes two mechanisms to explain this “convergence” in living standards. The compensation mechanism concerns the ability to compensate the loss of partner earnings with alternative sources of income, whereas the partner independence mechanism concerns how much women stand to lose from dissolution in the first place. To test these mechanisms, the author drew on a unique administrative dataset from the Netherlands, covering women who experienced dissolution within ten years after union formation (N = 57,960). A decomposition analysis showed that convergence was not driven by compensation: women from all income groups decreased their household size and re-partnered, women from low-income unions increased transfer income, and women from high-income unions increased personal earnings and decreased tax payments. Instead, convergence was driven by partner independence: women from lower-income unions depended relatively less on their partners because they relied more on transfer income prior to dissolution. These results demonstrate how partners’ interdependence moderates the consequences of life events. The welfare state plays a crucial role in this process.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Why do Socioeconomic Differences in Women’s Living Standards Converge After Union Dissolution?

Hogendoorn

2022

Eur J Population

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“…Women experience greater financial loss than men upon divorce (Bonnet, Garbinti, and Solaz, 2021;Leopold, 2018). Courts aim at compensating the gender gap in living conditions between ex-spouses after divorce by sharing the household's assets and implementing alimony.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

More or Less Unmarried. The Impact of Legal Settings of Cohabitation on Labour Market Outcomes

Goussé

Leturcq²

2021

SSRN Journal

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“…It is well‐known that divorces lead to reductions in economic well‐being. Because parents who reside with children after divorce often lack sufficient economic resources, they are at a particularly high risk of poverty (Bayaz‐Ozturk et al, 2018; Bonnet et al, 2020; Leopold, 2018; Maldonado & Nieuwenhuis, 2015). The two most important policies assisting such households are means‐tested minimum income schemes (henceforth social assistance ) and child and spousal support schemes (henceforth private support ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring public‐private‐substitution after divorce: Ex‐spouse income and the effect of marital separation on social assistance take‐up

2021

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Both public social assistance and private child and spousal support reduce the poverty risks of single parent households. However, research on system interactions has highlighted that social assistance eligibility is often denied for households that have a private support order. Such public-private substitution reduces social expenditures but undermines poverty reduction and prolongs economic dependency in separated couples. Using Swiss administrative data on ex-spouse income and social assistance take-up after divorce, this study develops an empirical approach to quantify public-private substitution. We have found that marital separation increased a mother's probability of receiving social assistance by 19 percentage points if both her own and her ex-spouse's income were in the bottom 30% of the distribution. This probability was reduced to 1 percentage point for low-income mothers whose ex-spouses had top-30% incomes. This strict publicprivate substitution could partially account for child poverty and reflects the traditional gender regime in Switzerland. K E Y W O R D Schild welfare services and systems, economic growth/hardship, female poverty, gender disparities, policies to support working families, social policy/social welfare policy

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The flip side of marital specialization: the gendered effect of divorce on living standards and labor supply

Cited by 21 publications

References 52 publications

Why do Socioeconomic Differences in Women’s Living Standards Converge After Union Dissolution?

Why do Socioeconomic Differences in Women’s Living Standards Converge After Union Dissolution?

More or Less Unmarried. The Impact of Legal Settings of Cohabitation on Labour Market Outcomes

Measuring public‐private‐substitution after divorce: Ex‐spouse income and the effect of marital separation on social assistance take‐up

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