Lasting Welfare Effects of Widowhood in a Poor Country

Little is known about the situation facing widows andtheir dependent children in West Africa especially afterthe widow remarries. Women in Malian society arevulnerable to the loss of husbands especially in ruralareas. Households headed by widows have significantlylower living standards on average than male or otherfemale headed households in both rural and urbanareas; this holds both unconditionally and conditionalon observable household and individual characteristics including age. Furthermore, the adverse welfare effectsof widowhood appear to persist even after widows areabsorbed into male headed households. An examinationof individual measures of well-being further revealsthat, relative to other women, worse outcomes for ever-widowed women persist through remarriage. Thesedetrimental effects are passed on to children, indicating an intergenerational transmission of poverty stemming from widowhood.