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LEGISLATING LOVE: The Effect of Child Support and Welfare Policies on Father–child Contact

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  • H. Elizabeth Peters
  • Laura Argys

  • Heather Howard
  • J. Butler

Abstract

Reducing non-marital childbearing and making nonresidential fathers take greater responsibility for their children were identified as goals of numerous policy changes since the 1980s. Child-support award rates for children born to unmarried parents have been quite low historically, leading lawmakers to focus on increasing both award and payment rates for this group. Nonmarital fathers are also much less likely to have contact with their children. Although evidence suggests that policy efforts increase child support awards and receipt, the link between child support policies, child support outcomes, and father-child contact has received less attention. This paper uses data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation on children born between 1985–1997 to investigate the relationship between child-support award and receipt and the amount of contact that fathers have with their non-residential children. Since it is likely that both of these behaviors are, in part, determined by unobservable characteristics of the father, we estimate an instrumental variables Tobit model. The model is identified by our assumption that child support policy variables can impact child support awards and payments, but father-child contact cannot be directly legislated. Our results suggest that there are unintended, but desirable effects of child support establishment and collection. Policies to collect child support not only increase financial resources to families, but through their impact on payments increase visitation and contact between these children and their fathers. The estimated impact of receiving child support on contact is more than 27 days per year. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2004

Suggested Citation

  • H. Elizabeth Peters & Laura Argys & Heather Howard & J. Butler, 2004. "LEGISLATING LOVE: The Effect of Child Support and Welfare Policies on Father–child Contact," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 2(3), pages 255-274, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:reveho:v:2:y:2004:i:3:p:255-274
    DOI: 10.1007/s11150-004-5647-5
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hansen, Lars Peter, 1982. "Large Sample Properties of Generalized Method of Moments Estimators," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 50(4), pages 1029-1054, July.
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    Cited by:

    1. Samara R. Gunter, 2018. "Child support wage withholding and father–child contact: parental bargaining and salience effects," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 427-452, June.
    2. 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).
    3. 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.
    4. Fisher, Hayley, 2015. "The Impact of Child Support Receipt on Household Income and Labour Supply," Working Papers 2015-20, University of Sydney, School of Economics.
    5. repec:pri:crcwel:wp06-09-ff is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Hayley Fisher, 2017. "The Impact of Child Support on the Household Income and Labour Supply of Payee Lone Mothers," The Economic Record, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 93(301), pages 189-213, June.
    7. 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.
    8. Rossin-Slater, Maya & Wüst, Miriam, 2018. "Parental responses to child support obligations: Evidence from administrative data," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 183-196.
    9. Reagan A. Baughman, 2017. "The impact of child support on child health," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 15(1), pages 69-91, March.
    10. Berger, Lawrence M. & Cancian, Maria & Meyer, Daniel R., 2012. "Maternal re-partnering and new-partner fertility: Associations with nonresident father investments in children," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 426-436.
    11. Quinn Moore & Rebekah Selekman & Ankita Patnaik & Heather Zaveri, "undated". "Parents and Children Together: How Low-Income Fathers in Responsible Fatherhood Programs Perceive and Provide Financial Support for Their Children," Mathematica Policy Research Reports df02a21e14c94dd4ba5f6b8a6, Mathematica Policy Research.
    12. Lenna Nepomnyaschy & Irwin Garfinkel, 2009. "Child Support Enforcement and Fathers' Contributions to Their Nonmarital Children," Working Papers 909, Princeton University, School of Public and International Affairs, Center for Research on Child Wellbeing..
    13. Thomason, Elizabeth & Himle, Joseph A. & Tolman, Richard M. & Sinco, Brandy R. & Savas, Sue Ann, 2017. "The effect of social anxiety, generalized anxiety, depression and substance abuse on child support payment compliance among non-custodial parents," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 180-185.
    14. Schaubert, Marianna, 2018. "Behavioral Response of Non-Resident Parents to Child Support Obligations: Evidence From SOEP," EconStor Preprints 203675, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.

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