Children's living arrangements and labor market outcomes of divorced mothers in Wisconsin

Abstract

Objective

This paper examines the way divorced mothers' long-run employment, long-run earnings, and subjective experiences of work–family conflict differ by children's postdivorce living arrangements.

Background

Children's living arrangements are an important—and somewhat overlooked—determinant of mothers' postdivorce economic outcomes. Parenting commitments and resource availability tied to the amount of time children spend in residence can impact mothers' experiences of work–family conflict and consequent employment.

Method

The paper uses linked administrative and survey data for divorced parents in Wisconsin. It applies a mixed-methods approach, first using multivariate regression models to control for baseline characteristics in exploring mothers' labor market outcomes and experiences of work–family conflict, and subsequently performing content analysis on open-ended survey responses to enhance the findings from the quantitative analysis.

Results

Mothers with shared physical custody are 5% more likely to report being employed in the long run, experience 6% less work–family conflict, and show larger increases in long-term earnings than mothers who have sole physical custody of their children. However, the higher long-term earnings of shared placement mothers cannot be attributed to lower work–family conflict.

Conclusion

Shared placement mothers enjoy a labor market advantage in the long term after divorce, but more research is needed to understand the mechanisms behind this relationship.

Implications

Public policy encouraging shared placement can be beneficial for divorced mothers' economic outcomes.