For richer or for poorer
Marriage as an antipoverty strategy
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 11680738 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Adam Thomas (0000-0001-7156-4477, Brookings Institution, corresponding author), Isabel V Sawhill (Brookings Institution), Isabel Sawhill |
| Year | 2002 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Pages | 587-599 |
| Publication date | 2002-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Policy Analysis and Management (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0276-8739 • E-ISSN: 1520-6688 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/pam.10075 |
| OpenAlex | W2057355456 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 38 |
| References cited | 25 |
This study examines the effects of changes in family structure on children's economic well‐being. An initial shift‐share analysis indicates that, had the proportion of children living in female‐headed families remained constant since 1970, the 1998 child poverty rate would have been 4.4 percentage points lower than its actual 1998 level of 18.3 percent. The March 1999 Current Population Survey is then used to conduct a second analysis in which marriages are simulated between single mothers and demographically similar, unrelated males. The microsimulation analysis addresses some of the shortcomings of the shift‐share approach by making it possible to account for the possibility of a shortage of marriageable men, to control for unobservable differences between married men and women and their unmarried counterparts, and to measure directly the effects of increases in marriage on the economic well‐being of children. Results from the microsimulation analysis suggest that, had the proportion of children living in female‐headed families remained constant since 1970, the child poverty rate would have been 3.4 percentage points lower than its actual 1998 level. Among children whose mother participated in a simulated marriage, the poverty rate would have fallen by almost two‐thirds. © 2002 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management
Child poverty · Demographic economics · Econometrics · Economic growth · Economic shortage · Economics · Government (linguistics · Microsimulation · Population · Poverty · Poverty rate · Sociology · Unobservable · demographic modeling and climate adaptation · Demography · Gender, Labor, and Family Dynamics · Intergenerational Family Dynamics and Caregiving · Psychology
Where is the Land of Opportunity? The Geography of Intergenerational Mobility in the United States
Does European-Style Welfare Generosity Discourage Single-Mother Employment?
Determinants of Informal Social Help Among Women Enduring Marital Separation and Poverty
Against the Tide
Is Marriage a Panacea? Union Formation Among Economically Disadvantaged Unwed Mothers
The Decline of the American Family
Where is the land of Opportunity? The Geography of Intergenerational Mobility in the United States
Structural racism, family structure, and Black–White inequality
Structural theory and relative poverty in rich Western democracies, 1969–2000
For Richer or for Poorer
How do marital status, work effort, and wage rates interact
How Much Does Change in the Proportion of Children Living in Immigrant Families Contribute to Change in the Poverty Rate among Children
Single Parenthood and the Poverty Debate
A review of the antecedents of union dissolution
The Evolution of Family Policy
Structural and individualistic theories of poverty
Marriage Promotion Policy and Family Inequality
The Anti-Social Effects of Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage
Role of social welfare in European suicide prevention
Marriage
The War on Poverty
Why are Children with Married Parents Healthier? The Case of Pediatric Asthma
Measuring the effectiveness of a multi-year multi-county marriage celebration
The Accumulation of Economic Disadvantage
Targeting, Universalism, and Single-Mother Poverty
Gender differences in the marriage and cohabitation income premium
Child Poverty Among Racial Minorities and Immigrants
Moynihan Was Right
Ethno-Racial Variation in Single Motherhood Prevalences and Penalties for Child Poverty in the United States, 1995–2018
Child Poverty in the American States
Welfare reform and child poverty
Recent trends in the inheritance of poverty and family structure
The Implications of Grandparent Coresidence for Economic Hardship Among Children in Mother-Only Families
Maternal Union Transitions and Household Food Insecurity
Rethinking the Risks of Poverty
Family Structure Stability and Transitions, Parental Involvement, and Educational Outcomes
Economics of widowhood mortality in adult women in India
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and the Black-White child poverty gap in the United States
Uneven tides
Drawing the line
Growing up with a single parent
Fighting poverty
When Work Disappears
A Treatise on the Family
Measuring Poverty
Assortative mating among unmarried parents
The declining marital-status earnings differential
Families at Risk
How does POSSLQ measure up? Historical estimates of cohabitation
Shifting family definitions
The Impact of the Changing US Family Structure on Child Poverty and Income Inequality
Race, Family Structure, and Changing Poverty Among American Children
Shifting Boundaries
Changes in American Marriage, 1972 to 1987
Family Change Among Black Americans
When Work Disappears
Married and Unmarried Cohabitation in the United States
Is Marriage a Panacea? Union Formation Among Economically Disadvantaged Unwed Mothers
Mate Selection Among Married and Cohabiting Couples
| Unique citing works | 38 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,65 |
| Citation span | 2003 - 2025 (23) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 38 |