Economic dimensions and legal regulation of the recovery of alimony obligations for the support of minor children in Russia

Russia lags far behind other developed countries in all aspects of the regulation of alimony obligations. This research substantiates economic factors and the legal regulation of alimony obligations for minors in Russia, referring to other countries' experiences and distributing a questionnaire. Indicators of the parents' well-being, the satisfaction of the child's needs, and parents' participation in raising a child after a divorce was determined. Regression models were built reflecting the influence of the number of alimony payments, the indicator of parent's participation in raising a child, the opportunity costs associated with the choice made by each spouse in favour of the family and children, and the integral indicator of the effectiveness of alimony and its particular indicators. We determined that 21% of income for alimony is an optimal size to maximize the satisfaction of the child's needs and level the material damage of a parent who pays maintenance. © 2021, Institute of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. All rights reserved.