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Cited by 319Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive HealthReproductive Health and ContraceptionFamily Dynamics and Relationships

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 22 of the 22 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Why is the Teen Birth Rate in the United States So High and Why Does It Matter?

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Kearney, Melissa S, Levine, Phillip B·2012·Journal of Economic Perspectives
DOI 10.1257/jep.26.2.141
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Abstract

Why is the rate of teen childbearing is so unusually high in the United States as a whole, and in some U.S. states in particular? U.S. teens are two and a half times as likely to give birth as compared to teens in Canada, around four times as likely as teens in Germany or Norway, and almost ten times as likely as teens in Switzerland. A teenage girl in Mississippi is four times more likely to give birth than a teenage girl in New Hampshire—and 15 times more likely to give birth as a teen compared to a teenage girl in Switzerland. We examine teen birth rates alongside pregnancy, abortion, and “shotgun” marriage rates as well as the antecedent behaviors of sexual activity and contraceptive use. We demonstrate that variation in income inequality across U.S. states and developed countries can explain a sizable share of the geographic variation in teen childbearing. Our reading of the totality of evidence leads us to conclude that being on a low economic trajectory in life leads many teenage girls to have children while they are young and unmarried. Teen childbearing is explained by the low economic trajectory but is not an additional cause of later difficulties in life. Surprisingly, teen birth itself does not appear to have much direct economic consequence. Our view is that teen childbearing is so high in the United States because of underlying social and economic problems. It reflects a decision among a set of girls to “drop-out” of the economic mainstream; they choose nonmarital motherhood at a young age instead of investing in their own economic progress because they feel they have little chance of advancement.

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  1. Joseph V., 2005, Journal of Human Resources, 40, 683

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Metadata

Authors
Kearney, M. S., & Levine, P. B.
Affiliations
National Bureau of Economic Research (US)
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Economic Perspectives
Publisher
American Economic Association
Published
2012-05-01
Volume
26
Issue
2
Pages
141-166
ISSN
0895-3309 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1257/jep.26.2.141
OpenAlex
W3124477828
Cited by
319
References
22
Citations by year
2026: 12 · 2025: 14 · 2024: 22 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 26 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 26 · 2016: 27 · 2015: 34 · 2014: 33 · 2013: 21 · 2012: 6
FWCI
53.46
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • The Journal of Economic Perspectives (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Reproductive Health and Contraception
  • Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
Keywords
teen childbearing, teen birth rates, income inequality, cross-national comparison, adolescent pregnancy, abortion, contraceptive use, teenage sexual activity, economic trajectories, social marginalization, state-level variation, low-income women, United States, Russia, Canada, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, economic opportunities
MeSH terms
Abortion, Induced, Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Adult, Birth Rate, Contraception, Contraception Behavior, Data Collection, Demography, Ethnicity, Female, Fertility, Forecasting, Health Services Accessibility, Humans, Income, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Pregnancy, Pregnancy in Adolescence, Sexual Behavior, Sex Education, Sexual Abstinence, Social Alienation, Socioeconomic Factors, United States, Marital Status, Pregnancy Rate, Developed Countries, Racial Groups, Young Adult

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