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The roles of child support enforcement and welfare in non-marital childbearing

Author

Listed:
  • Irwin Garfinkel
  • Chien-Chung Huang
  • Sara S. McLanahan
  • Daniel S. Gaylin

Abstract

This paper examines the effects of stronger child support enforcement and declines in welfare benefits on changes in non-marital childbearing between 1980 and 1996. Economic theory suggests that stricter child support enforcement will increase the costs of children for unwed fathers, making them less likely to have a child outside marriage. Reductions in welfare benefits also are expected to increase the costs of non-marital childbearing for both mothers and fathers. We examine these hypotheses, using aggregate state-level data and fixed effects regression models to identify the effects of policies on non-marital birth rates. We find that both stricter child support enforcement and declines in welfare benefits deter non-marital births. However, the estimated effects of child support enforcement are more robust and larger than those of welfare. The estimates imply that in the 1980–1996 period, increases in child support enforcement led to a decline in non-marital birth rates in the range of 6% to 9%, whereas decreases in welfare benefits led to a decline in the range of 2% to 4%. Copyright Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2003

Suggested Citation

  • Irwin Garfinkel & Chien-Chung Huang & Sara S. McLanahan & Daniel S. Gaylin, 2003. "The roles of child support enforcement and welfare in non-marital childbearing," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 16(1), pages 55-70, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:16:y:2003:i:1:p:55-70
    DOI: 10.1007/s001480100108
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Lincoln H. Groves & Leonard M. Lopoo, 2018. "Federal Financial Aid and Family Formation: Examining the Social Security Student Benefit Program," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 39(3), pages 436-444, September.
    2. Jean Knab & Irv Garfinkel & Sara McLanahan & Emily Moiduddin & Cynthia Osborne, 2008. "The Effects of Welfare and Child Support Policies on the Timing and Incidence of Marriage Following a Nonmarital Birth," Working Papers 898, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    3. Dirk Konietzka & Michaela R. Kreyenfeld, 2005. "Nichteheliche Mutterschaft und soziale Ungleichheit: zur sozioökonomischen Differenzierung der Familienformen in Ost- und Westdeutschland," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2005-001, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    4. Schaubert, Marianna, 2022. "Do courts know how to incentivize? Behavioral response of non-resident parents to child support obligations," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    5. D. Mark Anderson & Claus C. Pörtner, 2014. "High School Dropouts and Sexually Transmitted Infections," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 81(1), pages 113-134, July.
    6. Laura Tach & Alicia Eads, 2015. "Trends in the Economic Consequences of Marital and Cohabitation Dissolution in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 52(2), pages 401-432, April.
    7. repec:pri:crcwel:wp07-10-ff is not listed on IDEAS
    8. Brandeanna Allen & John Nunley & Alan Seals, 2011. "The Effect of Joint-Child-Custody Legislation on the Child-Support Receipt of Single Mothers," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 32(1), pages 124-139, March.
    9. Huang, Chien-Chung & Han, Ke-Qing, 2012. "Child support enforcement in the United States: Has policy made a difference?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 622-627.
    10. Leonard M. Lopoo & Kerri M. Raissian, 2014. "U.S. Social Policy and Family Complexity," The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, , vol. 654(1), pages 213-230, July.
    11. Maria Cancian & Daniel Meyer & Steven Cook, 2011. "The Evolution of Family Complexity from the Perspective of Nonmarital Children," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 48(3), pages 957-982, August.
    12. Huang, Chien-Chung & Edwards, Richard L., 2009. "The relationship between state efforts and child support performance," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 243-248, February.
    13. Maria Cancian & Carolyn J. Heinrich & Yiyoon Chung, 2013. "Discouraging Disadvantaged Fathers’ Employment: An Unintended Consequence of Policies Designed to Support Families," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(4), pages 758-784, September.
    14. Jo Anna Gray & Joe Stone, 2014. "Understanding Measures Of Nonmarital Fertility: The Roles Of Marriage And Access To Human Capital," Contemporary Economic Policy, Western Economic Association International, vol. 32(2), pages 288-305, April.
    15. Georgios Mavropoulos & Theodore Panagiotidis, 2023. "The role of relative income in the share of children born out-of-wedlock in the USA," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 64(3), pages 1105-1120, March.
    16. Lincoln H. Groves & Sarah Hamersma & Leonard M. Lopoo, 2018. "Pregnancy Medicaid Expansions and Fertility: Differentiating Between the Intensive and Extensive Margins," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 37(3), pages 461-484, June.
    17. Janna Bergsvik & Agnes Fauske & Rannveig K. Hart, 2020. "Effects of policy on fertility. A systematic review of (quasi)experiments," Discussion Papers 922, Statistics Norway, Research Department.

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