Economic value of marriage, family, relationship breakdown

Date:

By Morgen Makombo Sikwila

Considerable social science data supports the value of healthy stable marriages for individuals.

Morgen Makombo Sikwila.

 For adults, a stable, happy marriage is the best protector against illness and premature death, and for children, such a marriage is the best source of emotional stability,  good physical health.

 There is positive economic benefits for adults and children, and for society as a whole.

The advantages of marriage extend beyond physical and mental health. Marriage results in a positive effect of men’s motivation in the workforce, producing behaviours that signal reliability to employers.

Marriage financially benefits both men and women and that the benefit is much more important for women than for men. Marriage in early adulthood doubles the odds of affluence. For older individuals, wedlock conferred an even more pronounced advantage. 

According to one study, unmarried adults experience a 63 per cent reduction in total wealth relative to those who are married. The same study suggested that remarriage appears to mitigate, but not eliminate, the harmful financial impact of separation and divorce. Ever-married women have a poverty rate that is roughly one-third lower than the poverty rate experienced by never-married women…(author unknown).

Divorce has a significant adverse impact on individuals. Divorce has long been connected with the ‘feminisation of poverty.   While  partnering has allows women to recover their financial position, their opportunities are often limited. Spousal support after separation and divorce remains very low in many African countries. While it is widely asserted that divorce impoverishes women but enriches men, the latter being questionable, most men who separate do not experience gains in their living standards and that the majority are financial losers from the process. The increased incidence of ‘shared parenting’ in which children spend more time with both parents changes the situations for many fathers. The situation now is that many men as well as women suffer from the loss of the other partner’s income when relationships breakdown. While the economic impact of separation and divorce on women and men depends greatly on both their pre- separation circumstances and their post separation household composition, it is evident that in most cases both parents will suffer  losses in standards of living as long as both are having to meet the housing needs of the children in their separate households, with the duplication of housing cost, furnishings and appliances, and other such expenses, without suffering a significant loss of living standards.

The negative impact of divorce and subsequent singlehood is dire. Being married is  associated with better welfare outcomes. The adverse impact of divorce on the separating partners often has a significant flow-on effect on their children. There is a greater risk of lower occupational status and financial hardships, lower income and living in poor housing, homelessness, and the accumulation of fewer assets. The diminution of parents’ income has direct economic and material consequences for many children. They are more likely to depend on welfare, especially if pre- divorce family income was low.  Changes in family structure are by far the major cause of initial spells of poverty among female- headed households. The extent to which a divorce is detrimental financially on women correlates with the relative levels of education of the former spouses. Mothers with low education, formerly married to a husband with high education, experience the greatest losses. As a consequence, parenthood is the number one risk factor for child social exclusion.

 Children suffer because the standard of their living falls. It is undoubtedly true that the fall of economic standards has attendant short-comings, for example, change of housing or moving school, it must also be recognised that the evidence from research might suggestion more  other factors are in play too.

 Emotional disturbances and stress are particularly notable in the critical early years of childhood. Yet these risks are hardly known by most people,and little time and effort is devoted to assisting couples and their children make the best choices for their future fulfilment.

Marriage benefits individuals economically. It also benefits society. As a wealth generating institution, married couples create more economic assets on average than singles and cohabiting couples.  Those who have been continuously married have significantly higher levels of wealth than those who have not.

Married women are better off. The economic benefits are greater for women than they are for men.

Children particularly  feel the impact of marriage. Married households have higher incomes when children are present; non- marital household have lower income when children are present. The benefits for individual couples multiply and compound in the economy.  Economic benefits flowing from marriage – has been identified in most developed countries. The retreat from marriage has had profound economic consequences. There are some direct costs of divorce, including the courts and associated services. Marital dysfunction and family breakdown often lead to other social problems with significant costs to communities. Street kids menace is a direct result of marriage strife and or divorces; death of bread winners not excluded though.  A child with untreated behavioural problems needing rehabilitation services costs a lot of money  by the time they reach 28 years of age – 10 times the cost of children without behavioural problems. As many non-married parents have little or no independent income, welfare costs burgeons.

In economic stable nations, the costs of family instability are not just borne by individuals. They are, to a significant extent, borne by the taxpayers who provide income support for many parents and their children, pay substantial administrative costs in ensuring income transfers through the child support system, and bear more of the costs of caring for the elderly than would be necessary if a greater number of marital and quasi-marital relationships remained intact.

Separation and divorce compound the costs of an ageing population, as many people who divorced in the aftermath of the introduction of no-fault laws reach retirement and old-age. Traditionally, the burden of caring for the young and the elderly has fallen disproportionately on women. A consequence of divorce is more women in the workforce, leaving less time to care, and a greater burden on government services. Many divorced individuals also enter retirement themselves with reduced financial resources.  It is only in the last few years that the full impact of the divorce revolution on the aged population of  once rich societies has begun to be felt.

Divorce and non-marital childbearing also increase child poverty. Much of the cost associated with the profound social changes of the past few decades are borne by the public purse, as households multiply and many individuals are left  poorer and unable to meet the financial demands. More significantly, the growth of a non-married and less child-centred society slows economic growth.

The combination of proportionately many children and the fact that most of them are ill-equipped to compete in the modern economy compounds the problem.  

If  public finances in African  societies were healthy, the growing costs of family instability could be absorbed. However, African   States, in particular, are both facing a crisis in terms of government debt and the affordability of social welfare provisions. These costs are substantial. 

Relation trials need to be embarked on in Africa. When family dysfunctions and relationships breakdown it cost nations substantial amount  of dollars a year and prevention deserves greater attention. Every dollar spent on prevention saves many dollars in services later.

Morgen Makombo Sikwila

Masters in Peace and Governance

BSc Counselling

Diploma in Environmental Health Health

Certificate in Marketing Management

Email address: morgensikwilam@gmail.com

Phone Number: 0772823282

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