Policy Reform and Employment after Divorce

Until recently, Germany offered generous ex-spousal alimony payments after divorce for the ‘weaker’ part in a relationship. In 2008, a maintenance reform was enacted. This reform adopted the concept of a ‘clean break’ which radically reduced the liabilities between the ex-spouses. In this paper, we use register data from the German Public Pension Fund to evaluate how the policy change affected the employment and earnings of divorced women and men in Germany. After a descriptive overview of employment and earning patterns across the ‘divorce process’, we estimate the causal effects of the reform on employment and earnings. For that purpose, we rely on a combination of a triple difference approach with a matching approach. The analysis shows a positive reform effect on divorced women’s employment and labour market earnings. It furthermore reveals that men reduced their labour market engagement after divorce. However, the reform has attenuated this negative ‘divorce effect’. The paper concludes by discussing the avenues of post-divorce policies from a gendered perspective.

Everybody interested is cordially invited. The event will be held in English and is hybrid. Online participation is possible via this Zoom link.

Snacks will be served in the corridor on the 2nd floor in front of the conference room from 11:30 am. After the event, there will also be an opportunity for discussion with the speaker and a small reception.

Further information can be found here.