Economic Resources after Divorce: Family Income and Housing in the Wake of Israel’s Neoliberal Welfare Reforms

Following a review of the research on the economic implications of divorce, Anat Herbst-Debby, Amit Kaplan, and Miri Endeweld report on how changes in social policy over the last two decades affected the income and housing of divorced families in Israel. Their analysis reveals that the years following the 2003 welfare reforms were accompanied by large cuts in child allowances and income support allowances, as well as reductions in housing assistance. Examining the changing circumstances of men and women after divorce, they found the economic situation of divorced women worse than that of the rest of the Israeli population, and usually worse than that of divorced men. Although the authors note research suggesting that social policy can help to mitigate the negative economic consequences of divorce, they find this was not the experience of the 21stcentury policy reforms in Israel.