Event (DC): World Bank –Welfare Effects of Widowhood in a Low Income Country

The plight of Africa's many widows has largely been ignored in the work of economists and in policy discussions and actions. In particular, the situation of ever-widowed women who have remarried or been in some way absorbed into male headed households along with, and sometimes without, their dependent children has received scant attention. A review of evidence on the situation of women in Mali suggests that they are more vulnerable and less able to mitigate and cope with downside risk than men. Women in Malian society appear to be exceptionally vulnerable to the loss of husbands. An analysis of available household consumption data indicates that both unconditionally and conditional on observable household and individual characteristics including age, households headed by widows have significantly lower living standards than all other male or female headed households in both rural and urban areas. An examination of individual welfare measures further reveals that relative to other women, worse outcomes for ever-widowed women persist through remarriage. Furthermore, these detrimental effects are passed onto children, suggesting an inter-generational transmission of poverty stemming from widowhood. These findings have important implications for social protection policies.