The Impacts of Human Capital and Need on Alimony

Abstract

Work on the determinants of alimony awards is sparse and often speculative. The present study tests the human capital and needs models of alimony with data from Alabama. The results of Tobit regression analyses provide mixed support for both theories. For example, the human capital model was supported for duration of marriage but not husband's education. The economic need model was supported for age of wife, but not her education or presence of children. While some indicators of both models are written into Alabama's Legal Code on divorce, most indicators of both models are not predictive of alimony awards in practice. Models of alimony should perhaps also look to consensual, normative factors rather than being constrained by those that find expression in legal codes.