Full Citation

Title: Labor Market Shifts and Their Impact on Teen Birth Rates

Citation Type: Dissertation/Thesis

Publication Year: 2017

ISBN: 9780355079463

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Abstract: In the first paper I investigate whether higher returns to education for women lead to a reduction in teen birth rates. I first estimate the impact of the growth in the female college wage premium on teen birth rates in the U.S. An increase in the college wage premium is a proxy for higher expected earnings after completing college. Higher future earnings create incentives to pursue further education and they decrease the relative returns to having a birth as a teen. Using state variation, I find that an increase in the female college wage premium does lead to a reduction in teen birth rates. To address endogeneity and measurement error issues, I use a shift-share instrumental variable for women's wages to construct the female college wage premium. Results from three supplemental analyses support the main results. First, teen birth rates respond less to the growth in the female high school wage premium. Second, the estimates suggest that growth in the male college wage premium has a lower impact on teen birth rates but the results are not conclusive. Third, the elasticity of fertility with respect to the female college wage premium decreases as women grow older. This research can explain approximately 30\% of the fall in teen birth rates that has occurred from the early 1990s up to the present.

Url: https://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/236?ln=en

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Authors: Vyas, Pallavi

Institution: The University of Chicago

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Pages: 79

Data Collections: IPUMS USA

Topics: Labor Force and Occupational Structure, Other

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