In this paper, we estimate the consequences of teenage motherhood on schooling and subsequent adult wages. The common wisdom states that teenage childbearing, by competing for time, reduces schooling and labour market experience, thus reducing adult wages. However, the decisions to have a child as a teenager and to quit school at 16 might be endogenous. In order to design an effective policy reducing the negative impact of teenage pregnancy, it is important to study its impact in the long run. Using data from the NCDS, we find that teenage childbearing decreases the probability of post-16 schooling by 18% to 24%. This negative effect on schooling ranges from 7% to 22% when accounting for unobserved heterogeneity. Based on the lower estimates, the effect of childbearing on schooling may have been previously overstated. However, the long-term consequences of childbearing on adult work experience and wages are drastic. Experience is reduced by at least 2.5 years, and the pay differential at age 33 ranges from 12% to 52%. Teenage pregnancy appears to have long-term consequences. Government policy aiming to encourage participation in the labour market may be an efficient way to reduce these scarring effects.
Download Info
To download:
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the
proper application to
view it first. Information about this may be contained
in the File-Format links below. In case of further problems read
the IDEAS help
page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS
site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Length: 35 pages Date of creation: Jul 2000 Date of revision: Publication status: Published in Journal of Population Economics, May 2003, Volume 16, Number 2, Pages: 323-343. [ doi:10.1007/s001480200125 ] Handle: RePEc:kee:keeldp:2000/03
Note: We are indebted to Gauthier Lanot and to participants at the EEEG annual meeting (Southampton) for their comments that greatly improved earlier versions of this paper. All remaining errors are ours. Contact details of provider: Postal: Department of Economics, University of Keele, Keele, Staffordshire, ST5 5BG - United Kingdom Phone: +44 (0)1782 584581 Fax: +44 (0)1782 717577 Email: Web page: http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/ec/cer/ More information through EDIRC
Find related papers by JEL classification: I12 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Health Production I20 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - General J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
References listed on IDEAS Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.: