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Divorce Alimony: An Estimation of its Determinants and of its Amount
Author(s) -
Sofer Catherine,
Sollogoub Michel
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
labour
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.403
H-Index - 34
eISSN - 1467-9914
pISSN - 1121-7081
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9914.1994.tb00224.x
Subject(s) - alimony , wife , economics , estimation , investment (military) , demographic economics , marriage market , instrumental variable , attribution , labour economics , law , psychology , political science , social psychology , econometrics , management , politics
The purpose of this paper is to study the determinants of the attribution of alimony to women after divorce, and to examine the main determinants of its amount. Three different theoretical models of marriage may influence judges'decision in attributing alimony: an investment‐type marriage, a trade‐type marriage or an association‐type marriage. An estimation of the corresponding dichotomic variable is run using data we collected from six French courts. Results show that the probability of obtaining alimony is strongly increased if the divorce is declared to be the husband's fault; labour market participation of the ex‐wife exerts a negative effect, as well as a decrease in relative wages of husband and wife. Finally, it appears that the amount of alimony is independent of the amount of child support.