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Reexamining the Economic Costs of Marital Disruption for Women

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  • Matthew McKeever
  • Nicholas H. Wolfinger

Abstract

Objective. Changes in labor force participation and returns may have lessened divorce's traditionally severe economic consequences for women. Method. We use recent data from the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH) to analyze the economic well‐being of women whose marriages ended between the first and second waves of data collection. Results. Comparing pre‐ and postmarital median per capita income shows that marital disruption now has much more modest economic consequences for women than in years gone by. A multivariate analysis suggests that their higher postdivorce incomes can be primarily attributed to labor force participation and human capital. Conclusions. These findings suggest better life chances for divorcèes and their children.

Suggested Citation

  • Matthew McKeever & Nicholas H. Wolfinger, 2001. "Reexamining the Economic Costs of Marital Disruption for Women," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 82(1), pages 202-217, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:82:y:2001:i:1:p:202-217
    DOI: 10.1111/0038-4941.00018
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    Cited by:

    1. Aydogan Ulker, 2009. "Wealth Holdings and Portfolio Allocation of the Elderly: The Role of Marital History," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 90-108, March.
    2. Anne-Lise Biotteau & Carole Bonnet & Emmanuelle Cambois, 2019. "Risk of Major Depressive Episodes After Separation: The Gender-Specific Contribution of the Income and Support Lost Through Union Dissolution," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 35(3), pages 519-542, July.
    3. Laura Tach & Alicia Eads, 2015. "Trends in the Economic Consequences of Marital and Cohabitation Dissolution in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(2), pages 401-432, April.
    4. Fabrizio Bernardi & Jonas Radl, 2014. "The long-term consequences of parental divorce for children’s educational attainment," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 30(61), pages 1653-1680.
    5. Christopher Tamborini & Howard Iams & Gayle Reznik, 2012. "Women’s Earnings Before and After Marital Dissolution: Evidence from Longitudinal Earnings Records Matched to Survey Data," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 33(1), pages 69-82, March.
    6. Marcantonio Caltabiano & Silvia Meggiolaro & Valentina Tocchioni, 2023. "The impact of parental separation on the pattern of transition to adulthood in Italy," Econometrics Working Papers Archive 2023_07, Universita' degli Studi di Firenze, Dipartimento di Statistica, Informatica, Applicazioni "G. Parenti".
    7. Sara McLanahan & Jean Knab & Sarah Meadows, 2009. "Economic Trajectories in Non-Traditional Families with Children," Working Papers 1181, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    8. Julia Mink, 2021. "The effects of major life events and exposure to adverse environmental conditions on health and health-related outcomes [Les effets d'événements majeurs de la vie et de l'exposition à des condition," SciencePo Working papers tel-03575191, HAL.
    9. Carole Bonnet & Bertrand Garbinti & Anne Solaz, 2021. "The flip side of marital specialization: the gendered effect of divorce on living standards and labor supply," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(2), pages 515-573, April.
    10. Laurie F. DeRose & Andrés Salazar-Arango & Paúl Corcuera García & Montserrat Gas-Aixendri & Reynaldo Rivera, 2017. "Maternal union instability and childhood mortality risk in the Global South, 2010–14," Population Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 71(2), pages 211-228, May.
    11. Andy Sharma, 2015. "Divorce/Separation in Later-Life: A Fixed Effects Analysis of Economic Well-Being by Gender," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 36(2), pages 299-306, June.
    12. Daniel Brüggmann, 2020. "Women’s employment, income and divorce in West Germany: a causal approach," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 54(1), pages 1-22, December.
    13. Cynthia Sanders & Shirley Porterfield, 2010. "The Ownership Society and Women: Exploring Female Householders’ Ability to Accumulate Assets," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 31(1), pages 90-106, March.
    14. repec:pri:crcwel:wp09-10-ff is not listed on IDEAS
    15. Jeffrey Dew, 2009. "The Gendered Meanings of Assets for Divorce," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 20-31, March.
    16. Marion Leturcq & Lidia Panico, 2019. "The Long-Term Effects of Parental Separation on Childhood Multidimensional Deprivation: A Lifecourse Approach," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 144(2), pages 921-954, July.
    17. Julia Mink, 2021. "The effects of major life events and exposure to adverse environmental conditions on health and health-related outcomes [Les effets d'événements majeurs de la vie et de l'exposition à des condition," SciencePo Working papers Main tel-03575191, HAL.
    18. Wolfinger, Nicholas H., 2018. "An Alternative Method of Forecasting Divorce Rates Based on the Parametric Sickle Model," SocArXiv txqsm, Center for Open Science.
    19. Julia Mink, 2023. "Broken Homes and Empty Pantries: French Households Suffer Substantial Loss of Standard Living, Reduce Food Consumption and Lose Weight Following Separation," CRC TR 224 Discussion Paper Series crctr224_2023_469, University of Bonn and University of Mannheim, Germany.

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