Abstract
Despite its apparent distance from the core topics of economics, economists have been attracted to, and deeply engaged in, research about teen fertility for more than a quarter century. Research has focused on two broad, interrelated issues: the socio-economic consequences of a teen birth and the socio-economic causes of a teen birth. In researching these issues, economists have drawn on and extended basic concepts in economic theory and in applied statistical research. I review those literatures for a non-economist audience and conclude that the research love affair has substantially benefited both parties, although definitive answers to causes and consequences are still elusive.
Highlights
At least for an economist, to see why economists would be attracted to issues like teen pregnancy and teen childbearing, despite their apparent distance from the core topics of economics
Viewed from that perspective, choices involving sexual and fertility behavior among teens are an incredibly challenging, but inviting, target. Is it possible to identify the role of economic incentives, including government policy, on these behaviors? Is it sensible to apply traditional models of rational choice decision-making to teens?
The traditional concern about teen fertility was predicated on the notion that it was an economically catastrophic act
Summary
At least for an economist, to see why economists would be attracted to issues like teen pregnancy and teen childbearing, despite their apparent distance from the core topics of economics. Viewed from that perspective, choices involving sexual and fertility behavior among teens are an incredibly challenging, but inviting, target. Is it possible to identify the role of economic incentives, including government policy, on these behaviors? Maybe future prospects for some teens were poor with or without a birth or perhaps government programs provided substantial benefits, so that the net impact on socio-economic well-being was small or even positive. At the same time teen marital births largely disappeared, falling from 85% of teen births to 12% This adds yet another focus for economic research. Suffice it to say that the U.S is an outlier and that simple explanations involving public support and transfers cannot be an explanation since most European countries with lower teen fertility have more generous support systems
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