Demography, Vol. 28, No.3, August 1991 Wife or Frau, Women Do Worse: A Comparison of Men and Women in the United States and Germany After Marital Dissolution* Richard V. Burkhauser Syracuse University Greg J. Duncan The University of Michigan Richard Hauser Roland Berntsen The University of Frankfurt am Main Longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the German Socio-Economic Panel show that in the Federal Republic of Germany, women experience even sharper drops in economic status immediately after a marital split than in the United States, while German and American men fare about the same. German social policy does little to reduce the disparities. Itis now well established that divorce or separation leads to dramatic declines in the economic well-being of women and children in the United States. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, Duncan and Hoffman (1985) found that family income and size-adjusted family income for women undergoing divorce or separation fell by 34% and 25% respectively. Family income fell by only 15% for men; size-adjusted family income actually increased, by 3%. David and Flory (1989) report similar changes in family income using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation. Because children usually are placed in their mothers' custody, their economic experiences mirror those of women (Duncan and Hoffman 1985; Bianchi, McArthur, and Hill 1989). Critics of United States social policy often cite these dramatic declines, advocating European-style "family policies" as a means of cushioning the economic impact of divorce and, more generally, of reducing income inequality. In Europe, income transfer programs typically guarantee a minimum income to all citizens, regardless of living arrangements. In addition, cash benefits often are targeted to families raising children (Kamerman and Kahn 1988). In the Federal Republic of Germany, for instance, children's allowances, reduced slightly at higher income levels, are available to all families, as are child tax benefits. An "advance maintenance payments" program provides benefits for up to three years if court-ordered child support is not paid. Further, all residents of Germany are eligible for means-tested social assistance benefits that provide an income guarantee at about 40% of the * The authors wish to thank Deborah Laren for her excellent research assistance and Lars Osberg, Steve Jenkins, Tim Smeeding, and Dorothy Duncan for their critical comments. This research was financed in part by German Marshall Fund Grant SG-289-002 and was completed while Burkhauser was a fellow at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies. Copyright © 1991 Population Association of America 353 Downloaded from http://read.dukeupress.edu/demography/article-pdf/28/3/353/904578/353burkhauser.pdf by guest on 30 December 2021