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The socioeconomic determinants of repartnering after divorce or separation in Belgium

Author

Listed:
  • Inge Pasteels

    (Hogeschool PXL)

  • Dimitri Mortelmans

    (Universiteit Antwerpen)

Abstract

Background: The increasing prevalence of higher-order unions is one of the major changes in family life in recent decades. Objective: By using register data, we aim to give a unique view on how income components – amount and composition – influence the likelihood of repartnering after divorce or separation in Belgium. Methods: We analyse a sample of 46,648 broken marriages and 67,053 separated cohabitations from the Belgian Data Warehouse Labour Market and Social Protection database, using discrete-time event history models. Results: The chances of men repartnering increase in higher income quintiles. Women in lower income quintiles are more likely to repartner, while women in higher income groups are less likely to repartner. These patterns have been found to hold regardless of the type of previous union. Furthermore, divorcees are more likely to repartner than former cohabiters are. The type of previous relationship hardly influences the impact of the amount of income on repartnering dynamics. As for the composition of income, being divorced decreases repartnering chances in cases of irregular labour, irrespective of gender. Women who are in work are more likely to repartner if they are divorced rather than separated, while men receiving unemployment benefits and integration income are more likely to repartner if they are divorced. Conclusions: Repartnering is evolving to a two-tier system, with a wide discrepancy between lowest and highest income groups. Type of previous relationship makes hardly any difference to the impact of the amount of income on repartnering dynamics, but partially drives the impact of the composition of income. Contribution: This analysis greatly improves on previous measurements of earnings and brings in a life course perspective.

Suggested Citation

  • Inge Pasteels & Dimitri Mortelmans, 2017. "The socioeconomic determinants of repartnering after divorce or separation in Belgium," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 36(58), pages 1785-1812.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:36:y:2017:i:58
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2017.36.58
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Gary S. Becker, 1981. "A Treatise on the Family," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number beck81-1, January.
    2. Richard Easterlin, 1978. "What will 1984 be like? Socioeconomic implications of recent twists in age structure," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 15(4), pages 397-432, November.
    3. Sofie Vanassche & Martine Corijn & Koen Matthijs, 2015. "Post-divorce family trajectories of men and women in Flanders," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 32(31), pages 859-872.
    4. R. Raley, 2001. "Increasing fertility in cohabiting unions: evidence for the second demographic transition in the united states?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 38(1), pages 59-66, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. Sascha Spikic & Dimitri Mortelmans & Dries Van Gasse, 2021. "More of the Same? Comparing the Personalities of Ex-Spouse and New Partner after Divorce," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-15, November.
    2. Haoming Song, 2022. "Women’s Divergent Union Transitions After Marital Dissolution in the United States," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(3), pages 953-980, June.
    3. Alessandra De Rose & Eleonora Meli, 2022. "Still believe it? an analysis of partnership trajectories after first union dissolution in Italy," RIEDS - Rivista Italiana di Economia, Demografia e Statistica - The Italian Journal of Economic, Demographic and Statistical Studies, SIEDS Societa' Italiana di Economia Demografia e Statistica, vol. 76(1), pages 169-183, January-M.
    4. Livia Sz. Oláh & Rudolf Richter & Irena Kotowska, 2023. "Introduction to the Special Collection on The new roles of women and men and implications for families and societies," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 48(29), pages 849-866.
    5. Miri Endeweld & Anat Herbst-Debby & Amit Kaplan, 2022. "Do the Privileged Always Win? Economic Consequences of Divorce by Income and Gender Groups," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 159(1), pages 77-100, January.
    6. Zafer Buyukkececi, 2021. "Does Re-Partnering Behavior Spread Among Former Spouses?," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 37(4), pages 799-824, November.

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    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

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