A paper examined the impact of partnership dissolution on a range of measures, drawing on data from the British Household Panel Survey. It said that the living standards of women and children declined, on average, more than men, particularly for those formerly in high-income households and for older women with non-dependent children. The paper said that mental health and life satisfaction declined around the time of separation, but they returned quickly to former levels and these factors were mostly unrelated to post-separation income. A significant minority of adults from low-income couples initially moved into households with other adults after separation. The paper considered the implications for policy and noted reasons for caution over the findings, suggesting that future research on this topic might use cross-sectional survey data.
Source: Mike Brewer and Alita Nandi, Partnership Dissolution: How does it affect income, employment and well-being?, Working Paper 2014-30, Institute for Social and Economic Research (University of Essex)
Links: Working paper | Nuffield Foundation press release | Guardian report
Date: 2014-Sep
An article examined the effects of marital separation on home ownership in Britain and Germany. It said that separation was negatively associated with ownership, partly explained by lower prior investments in ownership by those who separated, but partly a direct consequence of separation. The article said that differences between the housing markets allowed ex-partners in Britain to maintain relatively high levels of ownership after a separation, while ownership rates fell dramatically in Germany.
Source: Philipp Lersch and Sergi Vidal, 'Falling out of love and down the housing ladder: a longitudinal analysis of marital separation and home ownership', European Sociological Review, Volume 30 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2014-Aug