LOSERS AND WINNERS: THE FINANCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF SEPARATION AND DIVORCE FOR MEN PATRICIA A.MCMANUS THOMAS A.DIPRETE Indiana University Duke University Contrary to conventional thinking,the majority of partnered men in the United States lose economic status when their unions dissolve.Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics,this analysis shows that for most men the primary source of economic decline after union dissolution is their inability to fully compensate for the loss of their partner's income.A secondary source of economic decline is an increase in compulsory and voluntary support payments.Welfare state tax and trans- fer mechanisms have a much smaller overall impact on changes in men's living standards following separation.Although most men experience a decline in living standards following union dissolution,men's outcomes are heterogeneous,and the minority of men who relied on their partners for less than one-fifth of pre-dissolu- tion income typically gain from separation and divorce.The data show a clear trend toward greater economic interdependence in American partnerships,and this trend appears to increase the proportion of men who suffer a reduced standard of living following separation. LARGE body of research has estab- and its implications for the well-being of lished that marital disruption has a children who experience a parental divorce substantial negative impact on women's (Duncan and Brooks-Gunn 1997;McLana- standard of living,and that this impact is han and Sandefur 1994)contribute to the worse for women than for men (Bianchi, heated public debate on divorce reform. McArthur,and Hill 1989;Burkhauser et al. Feminist scholars and commentators who 1990,1991;Duncan and Hoffman 1985; defend no-fault divorce laws nonetheless Hoffman 1977;Smock 1993,1994;Smock, condemn this gender disparity as "uncon- Manning and Gupta 1999;for a review,see scionable for a legal system and a society Holden and Smock 1991).Gender inequal- committed to fairness,justice and equality" ity in the economic consequences of divorce (Weitzman 1996:538,emphasis in original; also see Bradford 1997;DiTullio 1997; Faludi 1991). Direct correspondence to Patricia McManus, Department of Sociology,Indiana University, Though Weitzman's (1985)well-publi- Ballantine Hall 744,1020 E.Kirkwood Avenue, cized claim that women lose three-quarters Bloomington,IN 47405-7103 (pmcmanus@ of their previous standard of living while indiana.edu).This research was supported in part men gain over 40 percent has been proven by National Science Foundation grant NSF-SBR- erroneous(Peterson 1996),the assertion that 96-31944.Karen Segar provided assistance with men gain from divorce is still part of the con- data preparation.We thank Frances Gold- ventional wisdom about marital dissolution scheider,participants in the Political and Eco- (e.g.DiTullio 1997;Morrison and Ritualo nomic Sociology Workshop at Indiana Univer- 2000;Smock et al.1999).Yet while there is sity,and the ASR Editors and anonymous review- ers for providing helpful comments on early overwhelming evidence supporting the view drafts.The data used in this study were made that women's standard of living declines- available to us by the Cross-National Equivalent often precipitously-following separation or File (CNEF)project at the College of Human divorce,the financial impact on men is less Ecology at Cornell University,Ithaca,NY. well understood.Studies relying primarily on 246 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW,2001.VoL.66(APRIL:246-268) This content downloaded from 129.96.252.188 on Mon,15 Feb 2016 15:26:54 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and ConditionsLOSERS AND WINNERS: THE FINANCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF SEPARATION AND DIVORCE FOR MEN PATRICIA A. MCMANUS THOMAS A. DIPRETE Indiana University Duke University Contrary to conventional thinking, the majority of partnered men in the United States lose economic status when their unions dissolve. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, this analysis shows that for most men the primary source of economic decline after union dissolution is their inability to fully compensate for the loss of their partner's income. A secondary source of economic decline is an increase in compulsory and voluntary support payments. Welfare state tax and trans￾fer mechanisms have a much smaller overall impact on changes in men's living standards following separation. Although most men experience a decline in living standards following union dissolution, men's outcomes are heterogeneous, and the minority of men who relied on their partners for less than one-fifth of pre-dissolu￾tion income typically gain from separation and divorce. The data show a clear trend toward greater economic interdependence in American partnerships, and this trend appears to increase the proportion of men who suffer a reduced standard of living following separation. A LARGE body of research has estab￾lished that marital disruption has a substantial negative impact on women's standard of living, and that this impact is worse for women than for men (Bianchi, McArthur, and Hill 1989; Burkhauser et al. 1990, 1991; Duncan and Hoffman 1985; Hoffman 1977; Smock 1993, 1994; Smock, Manning and Gupta 1999; for a review, see Holden and Smock 1991). Gender inequal￾ity in the economic consequences of divorce Direct correspondence to Patricia McManus, Department of Sociology, Indiana University, Ballantine Hall 744, 1020 E. Kirkwood Avenue, Bloomington, IN 47405-7103 (pmcmanus@ indiana.edu). This research was supported in part by National Science Foundation grant NSF-SBR- 96-31944. Karen Segar provided assistance with data preparation. We thank Frances Gold￾scheider, participants in the Political and Eco￾nomic Sociology Workshop at Indiana Univer￾sity, and the ASR Editors and anonymous review￾ers for providing helpful comments on early drafts. The data used in this study were made available to us by the Cross-National Equivalent File (CNEF) project at the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. and its implications for the well-being of children who experience a parental divorce (Duncan and Brooks-Gunn 1997; McLana￾han and Sandefur 1994) contribute to the heated public debate on divorce reform. Feminist scholars and commentators who defend no-fault divorce laws nonetheless condemn this gender disparity as "uncon￾scionable for a legal system and a society committed to fairness, justice and equality" (Weitzman 1996:538, emphasis in original; also see Bradford 1997; DiTullio 1997; Faludi 1991). Though Weitzman's (1985) well-publi￾cized claim that women lose three-quarters of their previous standard of living while men gain over 40 percent has been proven erroneous (Peterson 1996), the assertion that men gain from divorce is still part of the con￾ventional wisdom about marital dissolution (e.g. DiTullio 1997; Morrison and Ritualo 2000; Smock et al. 1999). Yet while there is overwhelming evidence supporting the view that women's standard of living declines￾often precipitously-following separation or divorce, the financial impact on men is less well understood. Studies relving primarily on 246 AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW, 2001, VOL. 66 (APRIL:246-268) This content downloaded from 129.96.252.188 on Mon, 15 Feb 2016 15:26:54 UTC All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions