Economic Wellbeing and Labor Supply Patterns of Subsequently Divorcing Mothers in Wisconsin

Economic hardship among divorced women—particularly mothers—is a longstanding policy concern. Most research in this area has causally examined women’s labor supply in relation to divorce or concentrated on post-divorce outcomes alone. Less attention has been paid to understanding mothers’ pre-divorce economic outcomes, although they have an important bearing on their post-divorce economic circumstances. The present study addresses this gap by using court records data on divorce cases linked to administrative employment records in Wisconsin to examine economic circumstances of married mothers with children at the time of filing the divorce petition, and how they evolve over three years leading up to it. The study introduces a new measure of economic vulnerability and carries out a descriptive analysis of mothers’ employment, earnings, and economic circumstances in the years preceding a divorce and compares them with the outcomes of fathers. Results show that despite significant increases in labor supply and earnings in the time leading up to divorce, mothers remain economically more vulnerable than fathers going into divorce, with over 44% of mothers (compared to 27% fathers) unable to support themselves and their children above the poverty line with their own earnings. Findings also suggest that mothers with younger children are worse off in terms of earnings and employment than mothers of older children although such differences are less pronounced for fathers. Implications for post-divorce cost-sharing of children, work, and safety net policies are discussed.