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The Impact of Child Support Enforcement on Fertility, Parental Investment and Child Well-Being

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  • Anna Aizer
  • Sara McLanahan

Abstract

Increasing the probability of paying child support, in addition to increasing resources available for investment in children, may also alter the incentives faced by men to have children out of wedlock. We find that strengthening child support enforcement leads men to have fewer out-of-wedlock births and among those who do become fathers, to do so with more educated women and those with a higher propensity to invest in children. Thus, policies that compel men to pay child support may affect child outcomes through two pathways: an increase in financial resources and a birth selection process.

Suggested Citation

  • Anna Aizer & Sara McLanahan, 2005. "The Impact of Child Support Enforcement on Fertility, Parental Investment and Child Well-Being," NBER Working Papers 11522, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    • Handle: RePEc:nbr:nberwo:11522
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Laura Argys & H. Peters & Jeanne Brooks-Gunn & Judith Smith, 1998. "The impact of child support on cognitive outcomes of young children," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 35(2), pages 159-173, May.
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    6. Miller, Cynthia & Garfinkel, Irwin & McLanahan, Sara, 1997. "Child Support in the U.S.: Can Fathers Afford to Pay More?," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 43(3), pages 261-281, September.
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    9. Laura M. Argys & H. Elizabeth Peters & Donald M. Waldman, 2001. "Can the Family Support Act Put Some Life Back into Deadbeat Dads?: An Analysis of Child-Support Guidelines, Award Rates, and Levels," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 36(2), pages 226-252.
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    More about this item

    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
    • I38 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - Government Programs; Provision and Effects of Welfare Programs

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