The Effect of Welfare Payments on the Marriage and Fertility Behavior of Unwed Mothers
Results from a Twins Experiment
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10172017 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jeff Grogger (National Bureau of Economic Research), Stephen G Bronars |
| Year | 2001 |
| Volume | 109 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 529-545 |
| Publication date | 2001-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Political Economy (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0022-3808 • E-ISSN: 1537-534X |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1086/321016 |
| OpenAlex | W3108254190 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 32 |
| References cited | 9 |
We study the relationship between welfare benefits and the time to first marriage and time to next birth among initially unwed mothers. We use twin births to generate random within-state variation in benefits, effectively controlling for unobservables that may confound the relationship between welfare payments and behavior. Higher base welfare benefits (1) lead unwed white mothers to forestall their eventual marriage and (2) lead unwed black mothers to hasten their next birth. The magnitudes of these effects are fairly modest. Moreover, we find no evidence that the marginal benefit paid at the birth of an additional childthe focus of the family cap debateaffects fertility
Demographic economics · Developmental psychology · Economics · Fertility · Payment · Population · Single mothers · Sociology · Welfare · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Demography · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Psychology
Legally ever after
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| Unique citing works | 32 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,28 |
| Citation span | 2001 - 2025 (25) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 32 |