Broken Homes and Empty Pantries: French Households Suffer Substantial Loss of Standard Living, Reduce Food Consumption and Lose Weight Following Separation

This study sheds new light on the impact of couple separation on household living standards by considering the effects of separation on measures reflecting the adequacy of food consumption in addition to more commonly studied income and expenditure measures. Using an event study approach with panel data from France, I examine changes in household disposable income, food expenditure and food quantities purchased, diet quality and household member’s body weight at the time of separation and up to eight years later, compared to a control group of households that did not separate. Disposable income, food expenditure and quantities purchased adjusted for household size fall by around 20%-25% after separation and until the end of the observation window. The ex-partner’s body mass index (weight for height measure) falls by 1.5% in the first three years after separation and diet quality worsens. A possible interpretation of the results is that living standards fall to the point where households cannot maintain a minimum level of consumption to meet their dietary needs, resulting in measurable weight loss.