Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Economic Consequences of Divorce for Women in the European Union: The Impact of Welfare State Arrangements

  • Published:
European Journal of Population / Revue européenne de Démographie Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Increasing divorce rates and growing concerns on welfare dependency urge the question whether welfare state arrangements moderate the negative economic consequences of divorce. In this study, the question is answered by comparing the short-term economic consequences of divorce for women across 14 Member States of the European Union. Using longitudinal data from the 1994–2000 European Community Household Panel survey, I demonstrate that the Member States differ in the extent to which women suffer economically from divorce. Multivariate analyses show that welfare state arrangements temper the economic consequences of divorce for women. Income-related arrangements reduce the economic strains of divorce most, then employment-related arrangements. These welfare state effects cannot be attributed to country differences in the composition of divorced women.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andreß, H. J. and Lohmann, H., 2000. —Die wirtschaftlichen Folgen von Trennung und Schei-dung. [The economic consequences of separation and divorce ]Band180 der Schriftenreihe des Bundesministeriums fu ¨r Familie, Senioren, Frauen und Jugend. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arts, W. A. and Gelissen, J., 2002. 'Three worlds of welfare capitalism or more?A state-of-the-art report', Journal of Social Policy 12: 137–158.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bonoli, G., 1997. 'Classifying welfare states: a two-dimension approach', Journal of Social Policy 26: 351–372.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burkhauser, R. V., Duncan, G. J., Hauser, R. and Berntsen, R., 1991. 'Wife or Frau, women do worse: a comparison of men and women in the United States and Germany after marital disruption', Demography 28: 353–360.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cle´menceau, A. and Verma, V., 1996. 'Methodology of the European Community Household Panel', Statistics in Transition 2: 1023–1062.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeWilde, C., 2002. 'The financial consequences of relationship dissolution for women in Western Europe', in E. Ruspini and A. Dale (eds), The Gender Dimension of Social Change. The Contribution of Dynamic Research to the Study of Women 's Life Courses. Bristol: The Policy Press, pp. 81–110.

    Google Scholar 

  • DiPrete, T. A. and McManus, P., 2000. 'Family change, employment transitions, and the welfare state: a comparison of household income dynamics in the U. S. and Germany', American Sociological Review 65: 343–370.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, G. J., Hill, M. and Hoffman, S. D., 1988. 'Welfare dependence within and across generations', Science 239: 467–471.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, G. J. and Hoffman, S. D., 1985. 'A reconsideration of the economic consequences of marital dissolution', Demography 22: 485–497.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eardly, T., Bradshaw, J., Ditch, J., Gough, I. and Whiteford, P., 1996. Social Assistance in OECD Countries. Volume I: Synthesis Report. Research Report No. 46. London: HMSO.

    Google Scholar 

  • Espenshade, T. J., 1979. 'The economic consequences of divorce', Journal of Marriage and the Family 41: 615–625.

    Google Scholar 

  • Esping-Andersen, G., 1990. The Three Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Oxford: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Esping-Andersen, G., 1999. Social Foundations of Postindustrial Economies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • European Commission, 1997. MISSOC. Social Protection in the Member States of the European Union. Situation on 1 July and Evolution. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.

    Google Scholar 

  • European Commission, 2000. The Social Situation in the European Union 2000. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eurostat, 1995. Tracing for the Third Wave of the ECHP. Doc. PAN 55/95. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eurostat, 1996. European Community Household Panel (ECHP): Survey Methodology and Implementation. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eurostat, 2002. Imputation of Income in the ECHP. Doc. PAN 162/2002–12. Luxembourg: Office for Official Publications of the European Communities.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferrera, M., 1996. 'The ''Southern ''model of welfare in social Europe', Journal of European Social Policy 6: 17–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Finnie, R., 1993. 'Women, men and the economic consequences of divorce: evidence from Canadian longitudinal data', Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology 30: 205–241.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fritzell, J., 1990. 'The dynamics of income distribution: economic mobility in Sweden in comparison with the United States', Social Science Research 19: 17–46.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ga ¨hler, M., 1998. Life After Divorce. Economic, Social and Psychological Well-Being Among Swedish Adults and Children Following Family Dissolution. Stockholm: Swedish Institute for Social Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goode, W. J., 1962. 'Marital satisfaction and instability: a cross-cultural class analysis of divorce rates', in R. Bendix and S. M. Lipset (eds), Class, Status, and Power, pp. 377–387 London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodin, R. E., Heady, B., Muffels, R. and Dirven, H.-J., 1999. The Real Worlds of Welfare Capitalism. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gornick, J. C. and Jacobs, J. A., 1998. 'Gender, the welfare state, and public employment: a comparative study of seven industrialized countries, 'American Sociological Review 63: 688–710.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gornick, J. C., Meyers M. K. and Ross, K. E., 1998. 'Public policies and the employment of mothers: a cross-national study', Social Science Quarterly, 79, 35–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman, S. D., 1977. 'Marital instability and the economic status of women', Demography 14: 67–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hoffman, S. D. and Duncan, G. J., 1988. 'What are the economic consequences of divorce?', Demography 14: 67–76.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hox, J., 2002. Multilevel Analysis. Techniques and Applications. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jarvis, S. and Jenkins, S. P., 1999. 'Marital splits and income changes: evidence from the British Household Panel Survey', Population Studies 53: 237–254.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leibfried, S., 1992. 'Towards a European welfare state?On integrating poverty regimes into the European Community', in Z. Ferge and J. E. Kolberg (eds), Social Policy in a Changing Europe. Boulder: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Markus, G. B., 1979. Analyzing Panel Data. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ný´Bhrolcha´in, M., 2001. 'Divorce effects and causality in the social sciences', European Sociological Review 17: 33–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD, 1990. Employment Outlook. Paris: The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

  • OECD, 2002. Economic Outlook. Paris: The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

  • Oppenheimer, V. K., 1997. 'Women's employment and the gain to marriage: the specialization and trading model', Annual Review of Sociology 23: 431–453.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, R. R., 1989. Women, Work and Divorce. Albany, NY: SUNY Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, R. R., 1996. 'A re-evaluation of the economic consequences of divorce', American Sociological Review 61: 528–536.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poortman, A., 2000. 'Sex differences in the economic consequences of separation: a panel study of the Netherlands', European Sociological Review 16: 367–383.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poortman, A. and Kalmijn, M., 2002. 'Women's labour market position and divorce in the Netherlands: evaluating economic interpretations of the work effect', European Journal of Population 18: 175–202.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sainsbury, D., 1996. Gender, Equality and Welfare States. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siaroff, A., 1994. 'Work, welfare and gender quality: a new typology', in D. Sainsbury (ed), Gendering Welfare States, pp. 82–100. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smock, P. J., 1993. 'The economic costs of marital disruption for young women over the past two decades', Demography 30: 353–371.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smock, P. J., 1994. 'Gender and the short-run economic consequences of marital disruption', Social Forces 73: 243–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sørensen, A., 1992. 'Estimating the economic consequences of separation and divorce: a cautionary tale from the United States', in L. J. Weitzman and M. MacLean (eds), Economic Consequences of Divorce. The International Perspective, pp. 263–282. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sørensen, A., 1994. 'Women's economic risk and the economic position of single mothers', European Sociological Review 10: 173–188.

    Google Scholar 

  • Statacorp, 2004. Stata Statistical Software: Release 8. College Station, TX: Stata Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tietze, W. and Cryer, D., 1999. 'Current trends in European early child care and education', Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 563: 175–193.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uunk, W., Kalmijn, M. and Muffels, R., 2003. The Impact of Children on Women's Labor Supply in Europe. A Reassessment of the Role of Institutions. EPAG Working Paper 2003–39. Colchester: University of Essex.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van Dijk, L., 2001. 'Macro changes in public childcare provisions, parental leave, and wo-men's employment', in T. Van der Lippe and L. Van Dijk (eds), Women's Employment in a Comparative Perspective, pp. 37–58. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van der Lippe, T., 2001. 'The effectof individual and institutional constraints on hours of paid work of women: an international comparison', in T. Van der Lippe and L. Van Dijk (eds), Women's Employment in a Comparative Perspective, pp. 221–243. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Van der Lippe, T. and Van Dijk, L., 2002. 'Comparative research on women's employment', Annual Review of Sociology 28: 221–241.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson, D., 2003. 'Sample attrition between waves 1 and 5 in the European Community Household Panel', European Sociological Review 19: 361–378.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wirtz, C. and Mejer, H., 2002. 'The European Community Household Panel (ECHP)', Schmollers Jahrbuch 122: 143–154.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Tilburg University, P.O. Box 90153, LE Tilburg, 5000, Netherlands

    Wilfred Uunk

Authors
  1. Wilfred Uunk
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Uunk, W. The Economic Consequences of Divorce for Women in the European Union: The Impact of Welfare State Arrangements. European Journal of Population 20, 251–285 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-004-1694-0

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10680-004-1694-0

Search

Navigation