DP303 The Duration of Lone Parenthood in Britain

Author(s):	John F Ermisch, Robert E Wright
Publication Date:	February 1989
Keyword(s):	Family, Single Mothers, Welfare
JEL(s):	841, 911, 914
Programme Areas:	Human Resources
Link to this Page:	cepr.org/active/publications/discussion_papers/dp.php?dpno=303

We model duration of lone parenthood among previously married British mothers. Using a proportional hazards model and demographic and employment history data from the 1980 Women and Employment Survey we investigate how the duration of lone parenthood varies with a number of characteristics of a woman and her family. In particular, we find that lone mothers with a job are likely to remain lone parents longer, as are women who worked in a manual job before becoming a mother. In contrast, being employed in the year prior to marital dissolution has the opposite effect. There is no evidence that higher welfare benefits prolong the length of lone parenthood.