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Lasting Welfare Effects of Widowhood in Mali

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  • van de Walle, Dominique

Abstract

Widows and their children are largely hidden from view in the data used to inform social policy discussions in Africa. Data for Mali reveal that households headed by widows have significantly lower living standards than other households in rural and urban areas. Furthermore, the welfare difference persists even after widows are absorbed into male headed households. An examination of individual measures of well-being further reveals that, relative to other women, worse outcomes for ever-widowed women persist through remarriage. These detrimental effects are passed on to children, suggesting an intergenerational transmission of poverty stemming from widowhood.

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  • van de Walle, Dominique, 2013. "Lasting Welfare Effects of Widowhood in Mali," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1-19.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:51:y:2013:i:c:p:1-19
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2013.05.005
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    7. Sutirtha Bandyopadhyay & Bipasha Maity, 2021. "Widowhood and Consumption of Private Assignable Goods: The Role of Socio-Economic Status, Rainfall Shocks and Historical Institutions," Working Papers 73, Ashoka University, Department of Economics.
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    12. Livini Donath & Oliver Morrissey & Trudy Owens, 2022. "Universal primary education and household welfare in Tanzania," Discussion Papers 2022-02, University of Nottingham, CREDIT.
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    15. Livini Donath & Oliver Morrissey & Trudy Owens, 2021. "Youth education and household welfare in Tanzania," Discussion Papers 2021-04, University of Nottingham, CREDIT.
    16. Annamaria Milazzo & Dominique Walle, 2017. "Women Left Behind? Poverty and Headship in Africa," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 54(3), pages 1119-1145, June.
    17. Kudo, Yuya, 2017. "Why Is the Practice of Levirate Marriage Disappearing in Africa? HIV/AIDS as an Agent of Institutional Change," IDE Discussion Papers 627, Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO).
    18. Beltramo, Theresa P. & Calvi, Rossella & De Giorgi, Giacomo & Sarr, Ibrahima, 2023. "Child poverty among refugees," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    19. Lambert,Sylvie & Van De Walle,Dominique & Villar,Paola, 2017. "Marital trajectories and women's well-being in Senegal," Policy Research Working Paper Series 8230, The World Bank.
    20. Djuikom, Marie Albertine & van de Walle, Dominique, 2022. "Marital status and women’s nutrition in Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 158(C).
    21. Wouterse, Fleur Stephanie, 2016. "Empowerment and agricultural production: Evidence from rural households in Niger:," IFPRI discussion papers 1509, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    22. Philippe De Vreyer & Sylvie Lambert, 2021. "Inequality, Poverty, and the Intra-Household Allocation of Consumption in Senegal," The World Bank Economic Review, World Bank, vol. 35(2), pages 414-435.
    23. Maneka Jayasinghe & Christine Smith, 2021. "Poverty Implications of Household Headship and Food Consumption Economies of Scales: A Case Study from Sri Lanka," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 155(1), pages 157-185, May.
    24. Theriault, Veronique & Smale, Melinda & Haider, Hamza, 2017. "How Does Gender Affect Sustainable Intensification of Cereal Production in the West African Sahel? Evidence from Burkina Faso," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 177-191.
    25. Kudo, Yuya, 2021. "Does criminalizing discriminatory cultural practices improve women’s welfare? A simple model of Levirate marriage in Africa," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).

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