Volume 38, Number 4 (Fall) 2003
Heim, Bradley T. 2003. "Does Child Support Enforcement Reduce Divorce Rates?" Journal of Human Resources 38(4):.
During the 1990s, expenditures on Child Support Enforcement
increased dramatically, as did the amount of money collected in these efforts.
This paper examines whether there is a link between the Child Support
Enforcement program and the divorce behavior of married couples with children.
Previous work, notably that of Nixon (1997), found a significant negative effect
of Child Support Enforcement policy on the probability of divorce. However,
using a panel of state divorce rates and policy variables, I find that, contrary
to this previous study, Child Support Enforcement policy has no significant
impact on divorce rates.
Bradley T. Heim is a professor of economics at Duke University. He would
like to thank Bruce Meyer, Joe Altonji, and Chris Taber for helpful comments and
suggestions. He takes responsibility for all remaining errors. The data used in
this article can be obtained beginning April 2004 through March 2007 from
Bradley T. Heim, Department of Economics, 305 Social Sciences, Box 90097, Duke
University, Durham, NC 27708.
© 2003 by the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
US ISSN 0022-166X