IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/jfamec/v45y2024i4d10.1007_s10834-023-09940-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Gender and the Economic Consequences of Divorce in the United States: Variation by Race and Ethnicity

Author

Listed:
  • Pamela J. Smock

    (University of Michigan)

  • Kristen Tzoc

    (Boston University)

  • Deborah Carr

    (Boston University)

Abstract

Gender differences in the economic consequences of divorce are well established and reveal how a traditional gender-based division of paid and unpaid labor can render women economically vulnerable when marriages dissolve. Guided by intersectional approaches that recognize systemic racism and entrenched gender inequality, we assess how race/ethnicity and gender intersect to pattern the economic consequences of divorce. Drawing on 28 waves of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79), we conduct a descriptive analysis of the short-term economic impact of marital disruption for non-Hispanic Black women and men, Hispanic women and men, and non-Hispanic White women and men. Our bivariate and multivariable results indicate that the economic consequences of marital disruption vary substantially on the basis of race/ethnicity and gender. All groups of women fare worse than men in post-dissolution economic wellbeing and in changes in economic status. Black and Hispanic men and the three groups of women fare worse than White men, with Black women experiencing the highest levels of economic precarity.

Suggested Citation

  • Pamela J. Smock & Kristen Tzoc & Deborah Carr, 2024. "Gender and the Economic Consequences of Divorce in the United States: Variation by Race and Ethnicity," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 45(4), pages 800-818, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jfamec:v:45:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s10834-023-09940-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s10834-023-09940-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10834-023-09940-w
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10834-023-09940-w?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Siwei Cheng & Christopher R. Tamborini & ChangHwan Kim & Arthur Sakamoto, 2019. "Educational Variations in Cohort Trends in the Black-White Earnings Gap Among Men: Evidence From Administrative Earnings Data," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(6), pages 2253-2277, December.
    2. Laura Tach & Alicia Eads, 2015. "Trends in the Economic Consequences of Marital and Cohabitation Dissolution in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(2), pages 401-432, April.
    3. Edward Telles, 2018. "Latinos, Race, and the U.S. Census," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 677(1), pages 153-164, May.
    4. Liana Sayer & Leigh Fine, 2011. "Racial-Ethnic Differences in U.S. Married Women’s and Men’s Housework," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 101(2), pages 259-265, April.
    5. Suzanne Bianchi & Lekha Subaiya & Joan Kahn, 1999. "The gender gap in the economic well-being of nonresident fathers and custodial mothers," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 36(2), pages 195-203, May.
    6. Matthew McKeever & Nicholas H. Wolfinger, 2001. "Reexamining the Economic Costs of Marital Disruption for Women," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 82(1), pages 202-217, March.
    7. Catherine B. McNamee & R. Kelly Raley, 2011. "A note on race, ethnicity and nativity differentials in remarriage in the United States," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 24(13), pages 293-312.
    8. Fen Lin & Susan L Brown & Deborah S Carr, 2021. "The Economic Consequences of Gray Divorce for Women and Men [Marriage, marital history, and black-white wealth differentials among older women]," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 76(10), pages 2073-2085.
    9. Scott Drewianka & Martin E. Meder, 2020. "Simultaneity and selection in financial hardship and divorce," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(4), pages 1245-1265, December.
    10. Richard Burkhauser & Greg Duncan & Richard Hauser & Roland Berntsen, 1991. "Wife or frau, women do worse: A comparison of men and women in the United States and Germany after marital dissolution," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 28(3), pages 353-360, August.
    11. Christopher R Tamborini & Changhwan Kim & Deborah Carr, 2020. "Are You Saving for Retirement? Racial/Ethnic Differentials in Contributory Retirement Savings Plans," The Journals of Gerontology: Series B, The Gerontological Society of America, vol. 75(4), pages 837-848.
    12. Sarah F. Small, 2023. "The Political Economy of Hegemonic Masculinity: Race, Income, and Housework in the United States," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 55(1), pages 26-46, March.
    13. Shelly Lundberg & Robert Pollak, 2003. "Efficiency in Marriage," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 1(3), pages 153-167, September.
    14. James McCarthy, 1978. "A comparison of the probability of the dissolution of first and second marriages," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 15(3), pages 345-359, August.
    15. Pamela Smock, 1993. "The economic costs of marital disruption for Young Women over the past two decades," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 30(3), pages 353-371, August.
    16. Thomas Leopold, 2018. "Gender Differences in the Consequences of Divorce: A Study of Multiple Outcomes," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 55(3), pages 769-797, June.
    17. Saul Hoffman, 1977. "Marital instability and the economic status of women," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 14(1), pages 67-76, February.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Carole Bonnet & Bertrand Garbinti & Anne Solaz, 2021. "The flip side of marital specialization: the gendered effect of divorce on living standards and labor supply," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 34(2), pages 515-573, April.
    2. Léa Cimelli & Carole Bonnet & Anne Solaz, 2024. "Do late-life divorces produce greater gender inequalities? Evidence from administrative data," Working Papers 292, French Institute for Demographic Studies.
    3. Aydogan Ulker, 2009. "Wealth Holdings and Portfolio Allocation of the Elderly: The Role of Marital History," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 90-108, March.
    4. Laura Tach & Alicia Eads, 2015. "Trends in the Economic Consequences of Marital and Cohabitation Dissolution in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(2), pages 401-432, April.
    5. Anne-Lise Biotteau & Carole Bonnet & Emmanuelle Cambois, 2019. "Risk of Major Depressive Episodes After Separation: The Gender-Specific Contribution of the Income and Support Lost Through Union Dissolution," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 35(3), pages 519-542, July.
    6. Trisha Chanda, 2023. "Economic Wellbeing and Labor Supply Patterns of Subsequently Divorcing Mothers in Wisconsin," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 44(4), pages 821-835, December.
    7. Wilfred Uunk, 2004. "The Economic Consequences of Divorce for Women in the European Union: The Impact of Welfare State Arrangements," European Journal of Population, Springer;European Association for Population Studies, vol. 20(3), pages 251-285, September.
    8. Gulgun Bayaz-Ozturk & Richard V. Burkhauser & Kenneth A. Couch & Richard Hauser, 2018. "The Effects of Union Dissolution on the Economic Resources of Men and Women: A Comparative Analysis of Germany and the United States, 1985–2013," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 680(1), pages 235-258, November.
    9. Teresa Mauldin & Yoko Mimura, 2007. "Marrying, Unmarrying, and Poverty Dynamics among Mothers with Children Living at Home," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 28(4), pages 566-582, December.
    10. Daniel Brüggmann, 2020. "Women’s employment, income and divorce in West Germany: a causal approach," Journal for Labour Market Research, Springer;Institute for Employment Research/ Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), vol. 54(1), pages 1-22, December.
    11. Julia Mink, 2021. "The effects of major life events and exposure to adverse environmental conditions on health and health-related outcomes [Les effets d'événements majeurs de la vie et de l'exposition à des condition," SciencePo Working papers Main tel-03575191, HAL.
    12. Julia Mink, 2021. "The effects of major life events and exposure to adverse environmental conditions on health and health-related outcomes [Les effets d'événements majeurs de la vie et de l'exposition à des condition," SciencePo Working papers tel-03575191, HAL.
    13. Eiji Yamamura, 2016. "Smokers’ Preference for Divorce and Extramarital Sex," Journal of Economics and Econometrics, Economics and Econometrics Society, vol. 59(2), pages 44-76.
    14. Gulgun Bayaz Ozturk, 2018. "Anti‐Poverty Effects of In‐Kind Transfers Among Divorced or Separated Women in the United States," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 10(1), pages 57-80, March.
    15. Kelly Bedard & Olivier Deschênes, 2005. "Sex Preferences, Marital Dissolution, and the Economic Status of Women," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 40(2).
    16. repec:pri:crcwel:wp09-10-ff is not listed on IDEAS
    17. Miri Endeweld & Anat Herbst-Debby & Amit Kaplan, 2022. "Do the Privileged Always Win? Economic Consequences of Divorce by Income and Gender Groups," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 159(1), pages 77-100, January.
    18. Maury Gittleman & Mary Joyce, 1999. "Have family income mobility patterns changed?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 36(3), pages 299-314, August.
    19. Maude Pugliese & David Pelletier & Céline Bourdais, 2023. "Separation and Savings in Tax-Favored Retirement Accounts Among Canadian Men and Women," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 42(4), pages 1-33, August.
    20. Arnstein Aassve & Gianni Betti & Stefano Mazzuco & Letizia Mencarini, 2007. "Marital disruption and economic well‐being: a comparative analysis," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 170(3), pages 781-799, July.
    21. Jeffrey Dew, 2009. "The Gendered Meanings of Assets for Divorce," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 30(1), pages 20-31, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:kap:jfamec:v:45:y:2024:i:4:d:10.1007_s10834-023-09940-w. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.