1 / 21

Impact of Divorce on Women's Labor Supply: Individual and Institutional Factors

Explore how divorce affects women's income, welfare dependency, and poverty risk. Investigate the role of individual characteristics and institutional factors in influencing women's labor supply post-divorce. Analyze social, economic, and cultural theories to understand the impact.

sthayer
Download Presentation

Impact of Divorce on Women's Labor Supply: Individual and Institutional Factors

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. The labour supply of separated women: the impact of individual and institutional factors Maike van Damme, Matthijs Kalmijn and Wilfred Uunk Tilburg University Department of Social Cultural Sciences email: m.vandamme@uvt.nl

  2. Relevance After divorce, women experience • large income drop • high welfare dependency • high poverty chance -> Can institutions alleviate the negative consequences for women?

  3. Research questions • What are the consequences of separation for women’s labour supply? 2. To what extent can we explain these consequences by individual and institutional factors?

  4. Theory (1) What are the consequences of separation for women’s labour supply? • Theory: basic labour supply model (trade-off work/non-work) • Assumption: divorce -> income loss -> more labour supply (via financial incentives)

  5. Financial incentives: 1. labour income 2. alternative resources Restrictions: 1. individual capacities 2. time restrictions 3. availability of jobs (not tested) Gender role values: about women’s employment (not tested) Theory (2) Which individual characteristics play a role? Sociological explanation Economic explanation

  6. State provisions may weaken financial incentives take away restrictions Egalitarian gender roles make female employment more accepted Theory (3) What is impact of institutional + cultural factors? Sociological theory Economic theory

  7. Hypotheses (1) Institutions: H1 Generous income-related public provisions -> less labour supply H2 Generous employment-related public provisions -> more labour supply Culture: H5 Egalitarian gender values -> more labour supply

  8. Hypotheses (2) Cross-level interactions: H3 Low income support: negative impact alternative resources = stronger H4 Low employment support: negative impact young children = stronger

  9. Conceptual model

  10. Data and method • ECHP 1994-2001 • 13 EU-countries (8 waves) • separated women (from marriage and cohabitation) • 18-65 years • Multi-level models 1. post-separation working hours (pre-post design) 2. odds of increase in working hours 3. odds of entry

  11. Operationalization Dependent variable ‘How many hours do you normally work in your main job or business?’ (at least 15 hours/week)

  12. Operationalization Institutions income-related: Single parent allowances (1996) employment-related: Public child care places (1990-1995)

  13. Operationalization Culture ‘most women really want a home and children’ ‘being a housewife is just as fulfilling as working for pay’

  14. Results (1) Changes in working hours separated women

  15. Results (2) Exit and entry of separated women (percentages)

  16. Results (3)

  17. Results (4)

  18. Summary of results (1) +=confirmed, -=rejected(=opposite direction of effect), 0=no effect

  19. Summary of results (2) +=confirmed, -=rejected(=opposite direction of effect), 0=no effect

  20. Conclusion • a. Women modestly change labour supply b. Cross-national differences in patterns 2. Policy matters (child care reduces young child effect) 3. Contradictory effect income- and employment support on entry 4. Living with family is alternative resource in low-welfare-spending countries 5. No influence of gender role values

  21. Discussion • No effect of financial incentives • Alimony • No effect of remarriage • Other policy indicators? Future research: • Long term changes • Anticipation • Institutional effect on the long term

More Related