Losers and winners: The financial consequences of separation and divorce for men

Contrary to conventional thinking, the majority of partnered men in the Uni ted States lose economic status when their unions dissolve. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. this analysis shows that for most men the primary source of economic decline after union dissolution is their ina bility to fully compensate for the loss of their partner's income. A second ary source of economic decline is an increase in compulsory and voluntary s upport payments. Welfare state tax and transfer mechanisms have a much smal ler overall impact on changes in men's living standards following separatio n. Although most men experience a decline in living standards following uni on dissolution. men S outcomes are heterogeneous. and the minority of men w ho relied on their partners for less than one-fifth of pre-dissolution inco me typically gain from separation and divorce. The data show a clear trend reward greater economic interdependence in American partnerships, and this trend appears to increase the proportion of men who suffer a reduced standa rd of living following separation.