Why has poverty declined for widows?

Abstract

The brief's key findings are: (1) Since the mid-1990s, the poverty rate for widows has dropped sharply. (2) Potential reasons include rising levels of education and work experience for women generally and a higher marriage rate among women with more education. (3) The findings show that, so far, the drop in widows' poverty has primarily been driven by the general increase in women's education and work experience. (4) Going forward, the poverty rate should continue to fall not only because of education and work patterns but also because of marriage selection. (5) Despite the progress, widows will remain at greater risk of poverty than married women.