Single parenthood and the poverty debate : how pathways and policies explain cross-national differences
Burciu, Roxana-Diana (Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics)
Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics

Date:	2025
Abstract:	Objective: This study aims to reveal the heterogeneity of single parents by focusing on the variation in poverty risks across coun-tries and across pathways into single parenthood. It also adjudicates between two contrasting explanations for cross-nationalvariation in single parent poverty. Background: Single parenthood's strong association with poverty has long been established in both public discourse and ac-ademic research, particularly in the context of the United States. However, the reasons for cross-national differences in single-parent poverty are unclear, with both institutional and individual perspectives offering credible arguments. Method: This study uses longitudinal panel data from the Cross-National Equivalent File from five countries (Australia,Switzerland, Germany, the UK, and the US) to address two competing explanations for cross-national differences in single-parent poverty: (1) variation in pathways into single parenthood (never marrying, divorce, widowhood, and separation) and (2)differences in policy. Results: The research reveals substantial disparities in the prevalence of single parenthood across countries and time and ex-poses large heterogeneity in poverty outcomes by pathway into single parenthood. However, a decomposition analysis shows thatpolicy remains the factor accounting for most of the cross-national differences in poverty among single parents. Conclusion: Although pathways into single parenthood matter a lot in predicting poverty within countries, variation in socialpolicy remains the most important factor in explaining cross-national differences in single-parent poverty.
Grants:	European Commission 101039655
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Family policies ; Family structure ; Longitudinal research ; Parents ; Poverty ; Singlehood
Published in:	Journal of Marriage and Family, 2025, p. 1-17, ISSN 1741-3737

DOI: 10.1111/jomf.70043

17 p, 702.7 KB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Social and Legal Sciences > Centre for Demographic Studies (CED-CERCA)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles