Economic Consequences of Marital Dissolution for Blacks

Abstract
This study analyzes Weitzman's suggestion that men and women lose economic well-being in the first year after divorce. Family incomes of divorced women and men are compared with their married counterparts for five SES categories. Using t-tests, it was found that, for most categories, for both genders, incomes of divorced persons were lower than incomes of married persons. Family incomes were regressed against a set of four control variables and a marital status variable. The marital status variable was statistically significant for four of the five SES categories for females. This was not true for males. Policy implications are considered.