Abstract
This article examines the empirical and theoretical research on child support policies to assess the effects of recent changes on the well-being of women, men, and children. In addition to considering the intra-family and inter-family distributional effects of child support payments across gender, race, and income categories, the essay explores several criteria central to a feminist cost-benefit analysis. Thus, recent changes in child support policies are analyzed in relation to the prevention of poverty, the reduction of women's economic dependence on men, and the reduction of gender inequalities in income and leisure time.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adams, Charles F., David Landsbergen and Larry Cobler (1992). ‘Welfare reform and paternity establishment: A social experiment,’Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 11: 665–687.
Arditti, Joyce A. (1991). ‘Child support noncompliance and divorced fathers: Rethinking the role of paternal involvement,’Journal of Divorce and Remarriage 14: 107–135.
Argys, Laura M. and H. Elizabeth Peters (1993). ‘The role of child support guidelines in the negotiation of child support awards,’Population Association of America, Cincinnati, OH, April.
Bassi, Lauri J. and Burt S. Barnow (1991). ‘Expenditures on children and child support guidelines,’ Unpublished manuscript.
Becker, Gary S. (1981).Treatise on the Family. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Becker, Mary E. (1989). ‘The rights of unwed parents: Feminist approaches,’Social Services Review 63: 496–517.
Beller, Andrea H. and John W. Graham (1985). ‘Variations in the economic well-being of divorced women and their children: The role of child support income,’ in David Martin and Timothy Smeeding, eds.Horizontal Equity, Uncertainty, and Economic Well-Being. Chicago, IL: New Berry.
Beller, Andrea H. and John W. Graham (1988). ‘Child support payments: Evidence from repeated cross sections,’American Economic Review 78: 81–85.
Beller, Andrea H. and John Graham (1991). ‘The effect of child support enforcement on child support payments,’Population Research and Policy Review 10: 91–116.
Beller, Andrea H. and D. Elizabeth Kiss (1993). ‘Child support guidelines and incentives for mother's work: An exploratory analysis,’ Unpublished manuscript.
Bergmann, Barbara R. and Roberts Mark D. (1987). ‘Income for the Single Parent: Child Support, Work, and Welfare,’ in Clair Brown and Joseph A. Pechman, eds.Gender in the Work-place. Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institute, pp. 247–270.
Betson, David, Eirik Evenhouse, Sibohan Reilly and Eugene Smolensky (1992). ‘Trade-offs implicit in child support guidelines,’Journal of Policy Analysis and Management 11: 1–20.
Blaydon, Colin C. and Carol B. Stack (1977). ‘Income support policies and the family,’Daedalus 106: 147–161.
Cassetty, Judith (1978).Child Support and Public Policy: Securing Support from Absent Fathers. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Co.
Chambers, David (1979).Making Fathers Pay: The Enforcement of Child Support. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
ChildNet Update (1994). Washington DC: National Campaign for Child Support Enforcement and Assurance, March.
Chira, Susan (1994). ‘Novel idea in welfare plan: Helping children by helping their fathers,’New York Times March 30, p. A10.
Christensen, Donna Hendrickson, Carla M. Dahl and Kathryn D. Rettig (1990). ‘Noncustodial mothers and child support: Examining the larger context,’Family Relations 39: 388–394.
Corbett, Tom, Irwin Garfinkel and Nora Schaeffer (1988). ‘Public opinion about a child support system,’Social Service Review 62: 632–648.
Danziger, Sandra K. and Ann Nichols-Casebolt (1990). ‘Child support in paternity cases,’Social Service Review 64: 458–474.
Dapner, Charlene E. and James H. Bray (1990). ‘Modes of participation for noncustodial parents: The challenge for research, policy, practice, and education,’Family Relations 39: 378–381.
Dudley, James R. (1991). ‘Exploring ways to get divorced fathers to comply willingly with child support agreements,’Journal of Divorce and Remarriage 14: 121–135.
Duncan, Greg J. and Saul D. Hoffman (1985). ‘Economic consequences of marital instability,’ in Martin David and Tim Smeeding, eds.Horizontal Equity, Uncertainty, and Economic Well-Being. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 427–467.
England, Paula and Barbara Stanek Kilbourne (1990). ‘Markets, marriages, and other mates: The problem of power,’ in Roger Friedland and G. F. Robertson, eds.Beyond the Marketplace. New York: Aldine de Gruyter, pp. 163–188.
Ferguson, Kathy E. (1983). ‘Bureaucracy and public life: The feminization of the policy,’Administration and Society 15 (3): 295–322.
Ferreiro, Beverly Webster (1990). ‘Presumption of joint custody: A family policy dilemma,’Family Relations 39: 420–426.
Fineman, Martha Albertson (1991).The Illusion of Equality: The Rhetoric and Reality of Divorce Reform Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Fraser, Nancy (1993). ‘After the family wage: What do women want in social welfare?’ Unpublished Manuscript.
Fraser, Nancy and Linda Gordon (1994). ‘A genealogy of dependency: Tracing a keyword of the U.S. welfare state,’Signs 19 (2): 309–336.
Fuchs, Victor (1988).Women's Quest for Economic Equality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Garfinkel, Irwin (1992).Assuring Child Support. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Garfinkel, Irwin and Marieka M. Klawitter (1990). ‘The effect of routine income withholding on child support collections,’Journal of Public Policy and Management 9: 155–177.
Garfinkel, Irwin and Sara McLanahan (1986).Single Mothers and Their Children: A New American Dilemma? Washington, D.C.: Urban Institute Press.
Garfinkel, Irwin, Daniel R. Meyer and Gary D. Sandefur (1992). ‘The effects of alternative child support systems on Blacks, Hispanics, and non-Hispanic Whites,’Social Service Review 66: 505–523.
Garfinkel, Irwin, Donald Oellerich and Philip K. Robins (1991). ‘Child support guidelines: Will they make a difference?’Journal of Family Issues 12: 404–429.
Graham, John W. (1990). ‘Child support and mother's employment,’Contemporary Policy Issues 8: 95–109.
Graham, John W. and Andrea H. Beller (1989). ‘The effect of child support payments on the labor supply of female family heads,’Journal of Human Resources 24: 664–688.
Hochschild, Arlie (1989).The Second Shift. New York: Avon Books.
Kirby, David L., Mark G. Yudof, and Marlene Strong Franks (1986).Gender Justice. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Klawitter, Marieka M. (1994). ‘Child support awards and the earnings of divorced noncustodial fathers.’Social Science Review 68(3): 351–368.
Klawitter, Marieka M. and Irwin Garfinkel (1992a). ‘Child support, routine income withholding, and post-divorce income,’Contemporary Policy Issues 10: 52–64.
Klawitter, Marieka M. and Irwin Garfinkel (1992b). ‘The effects of routine income withholding of child support on AFDC participation and costs,’ in Irwin Garfinkel, Sara S. McLanahan and Philip K. Robins, eds.Child Support Assurance: Design Issues, Expected Impacts, and Political Barriers as Seen from Wisconsin. Washington D.C.: The Urban Institute Press.
Krause, Harry D. (1989). ‘Child support reassessed: Limits of private responsibility and the public interest,’University of Illinois Law Review 1989: 367–398.
Laqueur, Thomas W. (1992). ‘The facts of fatherhood,’ in Barrie Thorne and Marilyn Yalom, eds.Rethinking the Family. Boston MA: Northeastern University Press, rev. ed.
Lazear, Edward P. and Michael, Robert T. (1988).Allocation of Income Within the Household. Chicago: Univesity of Chicago Press.
Lerman, Robert I. (1989). ‘Child support policies,’ in P. H. Cottingham and D. T. Ellwood, eds.Welfare Policy for the 1990s. Cambridge: MA: Harvard University Press.
Lommerud, Kjell Erik (1989). ‘Marital division of labor with risk of divorce: The role of “voice” enforcement contracts,’Journal of Labor Economics 7: 113–127.
Manser, Marilyn and Murray Brown (1979). ‘Bargaining analyses of household decision,’ in C. B. Lloyd, E. S. Andrews and C. L. Gilroy, eds.Women in the Labor Market. New York: Columbia University Press.
McElroy, M. B. (1990). ‘The empirical content of Nash-bargained household behavior,’The Journal of Human Resources 25: 559–583.
McElroy, M. B. and M. J. Horney (1981). ‘Nash-bargained household decisions: Toward a generalization of the theory of demand,’International Economic Review 22: 333–329.
Meyer, Daniel R. (1993). ‘Child support and welfare dynamics: Evidence from Wisconsin,’Demography 30: 45–62.
Meyer, Daniel R. and Steven Garasky (1993). ‘Custodial fathers: Myths, realities, and child support policy,’Journal of Marriage and the Family 55: 73–89.
Munsterman, Janice T., Claire B. Grimm, Thomas A. Henderson and H. Clifton Grandy (1991). ‘Child support guidelines: Facing modification and custody issues,’State Court Journal 15: 41–44.
Nichols-Casebolt, Ann (1986). ‘The economic impact of child support reform on the poverty status of custodial and noncustodial families,’Journal of Marriage and the Family 48: 875–880.
Nichols-Casebolt, Ann and Irwin Garfinkel (1989). ‘Trends in paternity adjudications and child support awards.’ Discussion paper 879–89. University of Wisconsin at Madison: Institute for Research on Poverty.
O'Donnell, Harry B. (1990). ‘Title I of the Family Support Act of 1988 — The quest for effective national child support guidelines,’Journal of Family Law 29: 149–169.
Okin, Susan M. (1989).Justice, Gender, and the Family. New York: Basic Books.
Ollerich, Donald, Irwin Garfinkel and Philip K. Robins (1989). ‘Private child support: Current and potential impacts.’ Discussion paper (888–89). University of Wisconsin at Madison: Institute for Research on Poverty.
Parents Opposed to Punitive Support (1993). Brochure.
Pearson, Jessica and Nancy Thoennes (1985). ‘Child custody, child support arrangements, and child support payment patterns,’Juvenile and Family Court Journal 36: 49–56.
Pearson, Jessica and Nancy Thoennes (1988). ‘Supporting children after divorce: The influence of custody on support levels and payments,’Family Law Quarterly 22: 319–339.
Peters, H. Elizabeth and Laura Argys (1991). ‘Child support awards and compliance: Evidence from California and Arizona.’ Unpublished Manuscript.
Peterson, James L. and Christine Winquist Nord (1990). ‘The regular receipt of child support: A multistep process,’Journal of Marriage and the Family 52: 539–551.
Phillips, Elizabeth and Irwin Garfinkel (1992).Changes Over Time in the Incomes of Nonresident Fathers in Wisconsin. Discussion paper (967–92). University of Wisconsin at Madison: Institute for Research on Poverty.
Ries, Paula and Anne J. Stone, eds. (1992).The American Woman 1992–93: A Status Report. New York: W. W. Norton.
Robins, Philip K. (1986). ‘Child support welfare dependency and poverty,’The American Economic Review 76: 768–788.
Robins, Philip K. (1992). ‘Why did child support award levels decline from 1978 to 1985?’Journal of Human Resources 27: 362–379.
Sapiro, Virginia (1990). ‘The Gender Basis of American Social Policy.’ Pp. 36–54 in Linda Gordon, ed.Women, the State, and Welfare. Madison WI: The University of Wisconsin Press, pp. 36–54.
Sawhill, Isabel (1975).Time of Transition: The Growth of Families Headed by Women. Washington, D.C.: The Urban Institute Press.
Schaeffer, Nora Cate (1990). ‘Principles of justice in judgements about child support,’Social Forces 69: 157–179.
Seltzer, Judith A. (1990). ‘Legal custody arrangements and the intergenerational transmission of economic welfare.’ Discussion paper. University of Wisconsin at Madison: Institute for Research on Poverty.
Seltzer, Judith A., Nora Cate Schaeffer and Hong Wen Charng (1989). ‘Family ties after divorce: The relationship between visiting and paying child support,’Journal of Marriage and the Family 51: 1013–1031.
Smock, Pamela J. (1993). ‘The economic costs of marital disruption for young women over the past two decades,’Demography 30: 353–372.
Sonenstein, Freya L. and Charles A. Calhoun (1990). ‘Determinants of child support: A pilot survey of absent parents,’Contemporary Policy Issues 8: 75–94.
Teachman, Jay D. (1990). ‘Socioeconomic resources of parents and awards of child support in the United States: Some exploratory models,’Journal of Marriage and the Family 52: 689–699.
Teachman, Jay D. (1991). ‘Who pays? Receipt of child support in the United States,’Journal of Marriage and the Family 53: 759–772.
Thoennes, Nancy, Patricia Tjaden and Jessica Pearson (1991). ‘The impact of child support guidelines on award adequacy, awards variability, and case processing efficiency,’Family Law Quarterly 25: 325–345.
U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Ways and Means (1993).Background Material and Data on Programs Within the Jurisdiction of the Committee on Ways and Means. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
Veum, Jonathan R. (1993). ‘The effects of child support and visitation on marital status.’ Unpublished manuscript.
Weiss, Yoram and Robert J. Willis (1985). ‘Children as collective goods and divorce settlements,’Journal of Labor Economics 3: 268–292.
Weitzman, Lenore J. (1985).The Divorce Revolution: The Unexpected Social and Economic Consequences for Women and Children in America. New York: Free Press.
Women's Advocate (1994). ‘HHS issues proposed regulations on paternity establishment’ 15 (1): 1, 3, 4, 10.
Yee, Lucy Marsh (1979). ‘What really happens in child support cases: An empirical study of establishment and enforcement of child support orders in the Denver District Court,’Denver Law Journal 57: 21–68.
Yun, Kwi Ryung (1902). ‘Effects of child support on remarriage of single mothers, in Irwin Garfinkel, Sara S. McLanahan and Philip K. Robins, eds.Child Support Assurance: Design Issues, Expected Impacts, and Political Barriers as Seen from Wisconsin. Washington D.C.: The Urban Institute Press.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Klawitter, M.M. Who gains, who loses from changing U.S. child support policies?. Policy Sci 27, 197–219 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00999888
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00999888