Empirical justifications for financial compensation after divorce.

Summary This article consists of an extensive review of the international empirical literature with the aim of showing to what extent the existence of a compensatory allowance between ex-spouses at the time of a divorce has an empirical (statistical) basis. Two main aspects of this literature are examined: first, the fact that the compensation is subject to a condition of inequality in the standard of living between the former spouses at the time of the divorce, and second, the fact that the calculation of the benefit can be made with regard to the former spouses' previous professional choices. Our analysis shows that while the empirical literature is largely in agreement on the issue of inequality of standard of living, the empirical justification of the link between compensation and previous occupational choices is much less well established.