Marisa Bucheli (Departmento de Economía, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de la República) Wanda Cabella (Programa de Población, Facultad de Ciencias Sociales, Universidad de la República)
Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to study the reasons that underlie non-compliance with child support orders in divorce cases and to review the problems of the enforcement system. Firstly, there is a brief description of the links between divorce, economic welfare and household structure. Secondly, there is an analysis of the variables that affect a parent’s compliance, based on a specific survey in 2001. Finally, there is a review of the problems of enforcement according to the points of view of different agents in the judicial system. The empirical analysis suggests that compliance is related to a parent’s ability to pay, the duration of the marriage and the couple’s conflict level before divorce. With respect to the legal system, agents say; a) that it is difficult for judges to observe parent’s income because of widespread under-declaration in labour and tax records; b) that the system does not apply enforcement techniques.
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