IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp10833.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Nonmarital and Teen Fertility

Author

Listed:
  • Fletcher, Jason M.

    (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

  • Polos, Jessica

    (University of Wisconsin-Madison)

Abstract

This chapter explores trends, causes and consequences of nonmarital and teen fertility in the United States and in selected European countries. First, we describe some key factors, including changes in economic institutions and family planning technologies, that likely contribute to the large changes in patterns of marriage and fertility observed in developed countries in recent decades. Secondly, we observe that substantial empirical hurdles to credibly estimating the impacts of nonmarital and teen fertility on adults' and children's outcomes remain, though recent evidence suggests more modest impacts than early evidence. Finally, we explore new directions in this research area, arguing that the conventional comparison between nonmarital and marital births should be revised to more adequately incorporate the rapidly growing number of births to cohabiting partners. Additional directions include continuing analysis of the dynamic impacts of the Great Recession and an integration of biological considerations into the economic analysis of fertility.

Suggested Citation

  • Fletcher, Jason M. & Polos, Jessica, 2017. "Nonmarital and Teen Fertility," IZA Discussion Papers 10833, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10833
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://docs.iza.org/dp10833.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Becker, Gary S & Tomes, Nigel, 1976. "Child Endowments and the Quantity and Quality of Children," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 84(4), pages 143-162, August.
    2. Bullinger, L.R., 2017. "The effect of minimum wages on adolescent fertility: A nationwide analysis," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 107(3), pages 447-452.
    3. Lawrence Wu, 2008. "Cohort estimates of nonmarital fertility for U.S. Women," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 45(1), pages 193-207, February.
    4. Marianne Bertrand & Emir Kamenica & Jessica Pan, 2015. "Gender Identity and Relative Income within Households," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 130(2), pages 571-614.
    5. Shelly Lundberg & Robert A. Pollak & Jenna Stearns, 2016. "Family Inequality: Diverging Patterns in Marriage, Cohabitation, and Childbearing," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 30(2), pages 79-102, Spring.
    6. Seth Richards‐Shubik, 2015. "Peer effects in sexual initiation: Separating demand and supply mechanisms," Quantitative Economics, Econometric Society, vol. 6(3), pages 663-702, November.
    7. David Autor & David Dorn & Gordon Hanson, 2019. "When Work Disappears: Manufacturing Decline and the Falling Marriage Market Value of Young Men," American Economic Review: Insights, American Economic Association, vol. 1(2), pages 161-178, September.
    8. Ribar, David C, 1994. "Teenage Fertility and High School Completion," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 76(3), pages 413-424, August.
    9. Melissa S. Kearney & Phillip B. Levine, 2014. "Income Inequality and Early Nonmarital Childbearing," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 49(1), pages 1-31.
    10. Shelly Lundberg & Robert A. Pollak, 2007. "The American Family and Family Economics," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(2), pages 3-26, Spring.
    11. David Deming & Susan Dynarski, 2008. "The Lengthening of Childhood," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 22(3), pages 71-92, Summer.
    12. Matthijs Kalmijn, 2013. "The Educational Gradient in Marriage: A Comparison of 25 European Countries," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(4), pages 1499-1520, August.
    13. Eliana La Ferrara & Alberto Chong & Suzanne Duryea, 2012. "Soap Operas and Fertility: Evidence from Brazil," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 4(4), pages 1-31, October.
    14. Adam Ashcraft & Iván Fernández‐Val & Kevin Lang, 2013. "The Consequences of Teenage Childbearing: Consistent Estimates When Abortion Makes Miscarriage Non‐random," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 123, pages 875-905, September.
    15. V. Joseph Hotz & Susan Williams McElroy & Seth G. Sanders, 2005. "Teenage Childbearing and Its Life Cycle Consequences: Exploiting a Natural Experiment," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 40(3).
    16. Daniel Schneider & Alison Gemmill, 2016. "The Surprising Decline in the Non-Marital Fertility Rate in the United States," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 42(4), pages 627-649, December.
    17. Jason Fletcher, 2012. "The effects of teenage childbearing on the short- and long-term health behaviors of mothers," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 25(1), pages 201-218, January.
    18. Jason M. Fletcher & Olga Yakusheva, 2016. "Peer Effects on Teenage Fertility: Social Transmission Mechanisms and Policy Recommendations," American Journal of Health Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 2(3), pages 300-317, Summer.
    19. George B. Roberts, Chairman, Universities-National Bureau Committee for Economic Research, 1960. "Demographic and Economic Change in Developed Countries," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number univ60-2, March.
    20. Jason M. Fletcher & Barbara L. Wolfe, 2009. "Education and Labor Market Consequences of Teenage Childbearing: Evidence Using the Timing of Pregnancy Outcomes and Community Fixed Effects," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 44(2).
    21. Kearney, Melissa S. & Levine, Phillip B., 2016. "Does Reality TV Induce Real Effects? A Response to Jaeger, Joyce, and Kaestner (2016)," IZA Discussion Papers 10318, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    22. Charles F. Manski, 1993. "Identification of Endogenous Social Effects: The Reflection Problem," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 60(3), pages 531-542.
    23. Martha J. Bailey & Melanie Guldi & Brad J. Hershbein, 2014. "Is There a Case for a "Second Demographic Transition?" Three Distinctive Features of the Post-1960 Fertility Decline," Book chapters authored by Upjohn Institute researchers, in: Leah Boustan & Carola Frydman & Robert Margo (ed.),Human Capital in History: The American Record, pages 273-312, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    24. Gary S. Becker, 1960. "An Economic Analysis of Fertility," NBER Chapters, in: Demographic and Economic Change in Developed Countries, pages 209-240, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    25. Melissa S. Kearney & Phillip B. Levine, 2015. "Media Influences on Social Outcomes: The Impact of MTV's 16 and Pregnant on Teen Childbearing," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(12), pages 3597-3632, December.
    26. Jason M. Lindo & Analisa Packham, 2017. "How Much Can Expanding Access to Long-Acting Reversible Contraceptives Reduce Teen Birth Rates?," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 9(3), pages 348-376, August.
    27. Robert J. Willis, 1999. "A Theory of Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 107(S6), pages 33-64, December.
    28. Kasey Buckles & Melanie Guldi & Joseph Price, 2011. "Changing the Price of Marriage: Evidence from Blood Test Requirements," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 46(3), pages 539-567.
    29. Leah Platt Boustan & Carola Frydman & Robert A. Margo, 2014. "Human Capital in History: The American Record," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number bous12-1, March.
    30. Gary S. Becker, 1981. "A Treatise on the Family," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number beck81-1, March.
    31. Kearney, Melissa S. & Levine, Phillip B., 2015. "Investigating recent trends in the U.S. teen birth rate," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 15-29.
    32. Jason Fletcher, 2007. "Social multipliers in sexual initiation decisions among U.S. high school students," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 44(2), pages 373-388, May.
    33. Saul Hoffman & E. Foster & Frank Furstenberg, 1993. "Reevaluating the costs of teenage childbearing: Response to Geronimus and Korenman," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 30(2), pages 291-296, May.
    34. Lundberg, Shelly & Pollak, Robert A, 1994. "Noncooperative Bargaining Models of Marriage," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(2), pages 132-137, May.
    35. John Ermisch, 2009. "The rising share of nonmarital births: is it only compositional effects?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 46(1), pages 193-202, February.
    36. Kerwin Kofi Charles & Ming Ching Luoh, 2010. "Male Incarceration, the Marriage Market, and Female Outcomes," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 92(3), pages 614-627, August.
    37. Jo Gray & Jean Stockard & Joe Stone, 2006. "The rising share of nonmarital births: Fertility choice or marriage behavior?," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 43(2), pages 241-253, May.
    38. Steffen Reinhold & Thorsten Kneip & Gerrit Bauer, 2013. "The long run consequences of unilateral divorce laws on children—evidence from SHARELIFE," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 26(3), pages 1035-1056, July.
    39. Jason Fletcher & Norma Padrón, 2016. "The effects of teenage childbearing on adult soft skills development," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 29(3), pages 883-910, July.
    40. Melissa S. Kearney & Phillip B. Levine, 2012. "Why Is the Teen Birth Rate in the United States So High and Why Does It Matter?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 26(2), pages 141-163, Spring.
    41. Kasey Buckles & Joseph Price, 2013. "Selection and the Marriage Premium for Infant Health," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(4), pages 1315-1339, August.
    42. Kevin Lang Jr. & Russell Weinstein Jr., 2015. "The Consequences of Teenage Childbearing before Roe v. Wade," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 7(4), pages 169-197, October.
    43. Jessamyn Schaller, 2016. "Booms, Busts, and Fertility: Testing the Becker Model Using Gender-Specific Labor Demand," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 51(1), pages 1-29.
    44. Jason M. Fletcher & Barbara L. Wolfe, 2012. "The Effects Of Teenage Fatherhood On Young Adult Outcomes," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 50(1), pages 182-201, January.
    45. Jaeger, David A. & Joyce, Theodore J. & Kaestner, Robert, 2016. "Does Reality TV Induce Real Effects? On the Questionable Association Between 16 and Pregnant and Teenage Childbearing," IZA Discussion Papers 10317, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    46. Becker, Gary S, 1973. "A Theory of Marriage: Part I," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 81(4), pages 813-846, July-Aug..
    47. Tomáš Sobotka & Vegard Skirbekk & Dimiter Philipov, 2011. "Economic Recession and Fertility in the Developed World," Population and Development Review, The Population Council, Inc., vol. 37(2), pages 267-306, June.
    48. Felix C. Tropf & Nicola Barban & Melinda C. Mills & Harold Snieder & Jornt J. Mandemakers, 2015. "Genetic influence on age at first birth of female twins born in the UK, 1919-68," Population Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 69(2), pages 129-145, July.
    49. Dorn, David & Autor, David & Hanson, Gordon, 2017. "When Work Disappears: Manufacturing Decline and the Falling Marriage-Market Value of Men," CEPR Discussion Papers 11878, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    50. Becker, Gary S, 1974. "A Theory of Marriage: Part II," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 82(2), pages 11-26, Part II, .
    51. Saul D Hoffman, 2017. "Abortion, Contraception, and Non-Marital Births: Re-Interpreting the Akerlof-Yellen-Katz Model of Pre-Marital Sex and Shotgun Marriage," Eastern Economic Journal, Palgrave Macmillan;Eastern Economic Association, vol. 43(2), pages 352-361, March.
    52. George A. Akerlof & Janet L. Yellen & Michael L. Katz, 1996. "An Analysis of Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing in the United States," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 111(2), pages 277-317.
    53. Olga Yakusheva & Jason Fletcher, 2015. "Learning from Teen Childbearing Experiences of Close Friends: Evidence using Miscarriages as a Natural Experiment," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 97(1), pages 29-43, March.
    54. Gary S. Becker, 1974. "A Theory of Marriage," NBER Chapters, in: Economics of the Family: Marriage, Children, and Human Capital, pages 299-351, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    55. Marcia Carlson & Alicia VanOrman & Natasha Pilkauskas, 2013. "Examining the Antecedents of U.S. Nonmarital Fatherhood," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 50(4), pages 1421-1447, August.
    56. repec:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2016.303604_3 is not listed on IDEAS
    57. Brienna Perelli-Harris & Michaela R. Kreyenfeld & Wendy Sigle-Rushton & Renske Keizer & Trude Lappegård & Aiva Jasilioniene & Caroline Berghammer & Paola Di Giulio & Katja Köppen, 2009. "The increase in fertility in cohabitation across Europe: examining the intersection between union status and childbearing," MPIDR Working Papers WP-2009-021, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany.
    58. Adam Ashcraft & Kevin Lang, 2006. "The Consequences of Teenage Childbearing," NBER Working Papers 12485, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    59. Jonathan Gruber, 2004. "Is Making Divorce Easier Bad for Children? The Long-Run Implications of Unilateral Divorce," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 22(4), pages 799-834, October.
    60. Shelly Lundberg & Robert A. Pollak, 2014. "Cohabitation and the Uneven Retreat from Marriage in the United States, 1950–2010," NBER Chapters, in: Human Capital in History: The American Record, pages 241-272, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    61. McElroy, Marjorie B & Horney, Mary Jean, 1981. "Nash-Bargained Household Decisions: Toward a Generalization of the Theory of Demand," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 22(2), pages 333-349, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Boyan Zheng & Qiongshi Lu & Jason Fletcher, 2023. "Estimating Causal Effects of Fertility on Life Course Outcomes: Evidence Using A Dyadic Genetic Instrumental Variable Approach," NBER Working Papers 30955, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Nathan Seltzer, 2019. "Beyond the Great Recession: Labor Market Polarization and Ongoing Fertility Decline in the United States," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(4), pages 1463-1493, August.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Devon Gorry, 2023. "Consequences of Teenage Childbearing on Child Outcomes in the United States," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(1), pages 225-254, January.
    2. Devon Gorry, 2019. "Heterogeneous Consequences of Teenage Childbearing," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 56(6), pages 2147-2168, December.
    3. Eva Rye Johansen & Helena Skyt Nielsen & Mette Verner, 2018. "Long-term Consequences of Early Parenthood," Economics Working Papers 2018-01, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    4. Shelly Lundberg & Robert A. Pollak, 2013. "Cohabitation and the Uneven Retreat from Marriage in the U.S., 1950-2010," NBER Working Papers 19413, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Eva Rye Johansen & Helena Skyt Nielsen & Mette Verner, 2018. "Long-term Consequences of Early Parenthood," Economics Working Papers 2018-01-, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    6. Braga, Breno, 2018. "The Effects of Trade Exposure on Marriage and Fertility Choices: Evidence from Brazil," IZA Discussion Papers 11875, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Gonzalez, Libertad, 2007. "The effect of benefits on single motherhood in Europe," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 14(3), pages 393-412, June.
    8. Christina J. Diaz & Jeremy E. Fiel, 2016. "The Effect(s) of Teen Pregnancy: Reconciling Theory, Methods, and Findings," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 53(1), pages 85-116, February.
    9. Doepke, Matthias & Kindermann, Fabian, 2014. "Intrahousehold Decision Making and Fertility," IZA Discussion Papers 8726, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    10. Lehrer, Evelyn L. & Son, Yeon Jeong, 2017. "Marital Instability in the United States: Trends, Driving Forces, and Implications for Children," IZA Discussion Papers 10503, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    11. Gunes, Pinar Mine & Tsaneva, Magda, 2020. "The effects of teenage childbearing on education, physical health, and mental distress: evidence from Mexico," Journal of Demographic Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 86(2), pages 183-206, June.
    12. Heiland, Frank & Korenman, Sanders & Smith, Rachel A., 2019. "Estimating the educational consequences of teenage childbearing: Identification, heterogeneous effects and the value of biological relationship information," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 15-28.
    13. Helu Jiang, 2018. "Cohabitation, Marriage, and Fertility: Divergent Patterns for Different Education Groups," 2018 Meeting Papers 1268, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    14. Shelly Lundberg & Aloysius Siow, 2017. "Canadian contributions to family economics," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 50(5), pages 1304-1323, December.
    15. Jara-Díaz, Sergio & Rosales-Salas, Jorge, 2017. "Beyond transport time: A review of time use modeling," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 209-230.
    16. Basu, Shubhashrita & Gorry, Devon, 2021. "Consequences of teenage childbearing on child health," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 42(C).
    17. Saul D. Hoffman, 2015. "Teen Childbearing and Economics: A Short History of a 25-Year Research Love Affair," Societies, MDPI, vol. 5(3), pages 1-18, September.
    18. Matthew Gnagey & Therese Grijalva & Rong Rong, 2020. "Spousal influence and assortative mating on time preferences: a field experiment in the USA," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 18(2), pages 461-512, June.
    19. Libertad González Luna, 2005. "The determinants of the prevalence of single mothers: A cross-country analysis," Economics Working Papers 876, Department of Economics and Business, Universitat Pompeu Fabra.
    20. Dirk Bethmann & Robert Rudolf, 2018. "Happily ever after? Intrahousehold bargaining and the distribution of utility within marriage," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 16(2), pages 347-376, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    nonmarital fertility; teen fertility; family economics; contraception; cohabitation; Great Recession; genetics;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J13 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp10833. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Holger Hinte (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/izaaade.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.