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Child poverty and child support policy: A comparative analysis of Colombia and the United States

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  • Cuesta, Laura
  • Meyer, Daniel R.

Abstract

Child support may merely reshuffle poverty, reducing child poverty among families who receive it at the expense of the economic well-being of children living with a nonresident parent. Our study examines child support's effects on child poverty, considering those who pay child support and those who receive child support, and doing so in Colombia and the United States (U.S.). We use data from the Colombian Longitudinal Survey (N = 13,036) and the U.S. Current Population Survey (N = 53,480). Our findings show that the antipoverty effectiveness of child support among resident parent families is larger in Colombia than in the U.S. Child support payments do increase child poverty among children living in payer families in both countries, but the effects are fairly small. In our base models, 6%–9% of children in nonresident parent families are falling into poverty after child support payments are transferred to other families. Overall, child support receipts decrease poverty to a greater extent than child support payments increase it among children.

Suggested Citation

  • Cuesta, Laura & Meyer, Daniel R., 2018. "Child poverty and child support policy: A comparative analysis of Colombia and the United States," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 143-153.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:93:y:2018:i:c:p:143-153
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.07.013
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Lenna Nepomnyaschy & Margaret Thomas & Alex Haralampoudis & Huiying Jin, 2022. "Nonresident Fathers and the Economic Precarity of Their Children," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 702(1), pages 78-96, July.
    2. Lindsey Rose Bullinger, 2021. "Child Support and the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid Expansions," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(1), pages 42-77, January.
    3. Mia Hakovirta & Laura Cuesta & Mari Haapanen & Daniel R. Meyer, 2022. "Child Support Policy across High-Income Countries: Similar Problems, Different Approaches," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 702(1), pages 97-111, July.
    4. Lindsey Rose Bullinger & Sebastian Tello-Trillo, 2021. "Connecting Medicaid and child support: evidence from the TennCare disenrollment," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 785-812, September.

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