Does unilateral divorce impact women’s labor supply? Evidence from Mexico

B-Tier
Journal: Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization
Year: 2021
Volume: 187
Issue: C
Pages: 315-347

Authors (2)

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 2 authors) × 1.0x B-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

From 2008 to 2018, Mexican states introduced unilateral no-fault divorce. Using state-level variation in the timing and adoption of these divorce laws, we study how the legislation affected married women’s labor supply. Our results suggest that married women did not increase their labor force participation. Among employed married women, hours worked increased, but the effect is not large enough to be observed in the full sample of women. We find suggestive evidence that social norms against female labor supply and lack of access to formal work may explain the limited labor supply response. Our results highlight the importance of the cultural context in studying the consequences of divorce legislation.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:jeborg:v:187:y:2021:i:c:p:315-347
Journal Field
Theory
Author Count
2
Added to Database
2026-02-02