Do the Privileged Always Win? Economic Consequences of Divorce by Income and Gender Groups

The heterogeneous economic results of divorce have received limited attention. The current study analyzes such consequences from an intersectionality perspective, where heterogeneity is expressed not only in gender groups, but also in the locations of women and men on the earnings distribution scale. We also examine whether remarriage and welfare support have differing effects on income across these groups. The study uses a unique dataset in Israel that merges administrative data from the tax authorities (employment income and pensions) with the National Insurance Institute database (socio-demographic information and allowances). Applying two-level (“mixed”) panel models combined with quantile regressions, we investigate the post-divorce income of women and men by tertile, as well as in the top percentile of each gender group. Results show that the most vulnerable group among men is low income, while the most immune group of men is very high income. For women, however, differences between classes are small; across the board, women’s post-divorce income decreases by at least a third. Thus, while the effect of divorce on men’s income depends upon their earnings level, its effect on women’s income is negative even in the top percentile. Remarriage has a differential effect on income based on location on the income distribution scale only for men. The welfare policy effect on income is gendered: regardless of earnings group, allowances are negatively related to income for women and positively related for men.