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Cited by 21Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive HealthFamily Dynamics and RelationshipsReproductive Health and Contraception

Fast Times at Ridgemont High? The Effect of Compulsory Schooling Laws on Teenage Births

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Black, Sandra, Devereaux, Paul, Salvanes, Kjell·2004·National Bureau of Economic Research
DOI 10.3386/w10911
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Abstract

Research suggests that teenage childbearing adversely affects both the outcomes of the mothers as well as those of their children.We know that low-educated women are more likely to have a teenage birth, but does this imply that policies that increase educational attainment reduce early fertility?This paper investigates whether increasing mandatory educational attainment through compulsory schooling legislation encourages women to delay childbearing.We use variation induced by changes in compulsory schooling laws in both the United States and Norway to estimate the effect in two very different institutional environments.We find evidence that increased compulsory schooling does in fact reduce the incidence of teenage childbearing in both the United States and Norway, and these results are quite robust to various specification checks.Somewhat surprisingly, we also find that the magnitude of these effects is quite similar in the two countries.These results suggest that legislation aimed at improving educational outcomes may have spillover effects onto the fertility decisions of teenagers.

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  • Other researchers using regression discontinuity analysis have estimated effects of education on rates of crime, arrest, and incarceration in the United States and on teenage births in the United States and Norway.

    “Other researchers have used regression discontinuity analysis to estimate the effects of education on rates of crime, arrest, and incarceration in the United States46 and on teenage births in the United States and Norway.47”

    From Education improves public health and promotes health equity (2015) · cites this paper as [47]

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Research works printed but not linked: 3

  1. Hoffman, S. D., Foster, E. M., and Furstenberg jr., F. F. (1993). "Reevaluating the Costs of Teenage Childbearing", Demography 30(1), 1-13.
  2. Ness, Erik (ed.). (1971). Skolens Årbok 1971. In Norwegian. (The primary school yearbook 1971.) Oslo: Johan Grundt Tanum Forlag.
  3. Rønsen, Marit and Steinar Strøm. 1991. "Enslige forsørgeres tilpasning mellom trygd og arbeid." (Lone mothers' choice of work and welfare). In Hatland (ed.) Trygd som fortjent? En antologi om trygd og velferdsstat. Oslo: Ad Notam.

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Authors
Black, S., Devereaux, P., & Salvanes, K.
Affiliations
  • National Bureau of Economic Research (US)
  • University of California, Los Angeles (US)
ORCID
Salvanes, Kjell
Venue
National Bureau of Economic Research
Publisher
National Bureau of Economic Research
Published
2004-11
DOI
10.3386/w10911
OpenAlex
W2169373049
Cited by
21
References
38
Citations by year
2015: 2 · 2013: 2
Type
report
Language
en
Open access
Locations
National Bureau of Economic Research (publishedVersion)
Funders
  • National Science Foundation
  • California Center for Population Research, University of California, Los Angeles
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health
  • Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Reproductive Health and Contraception
Keywords
teenage childbearing, compulsory education law, educational attainment, fertility timing, adolescent fertility, low-educated women, spillover effects, education policy, United States, Norway

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