The effects of minimum wages on teenage birth rates

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Lenhart, Otto (2021) The effects of minimum wages on teenage birth rates. Economics Letters, 198. 109670. ISSN 0165-1765 (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2020.109670)

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Abstract

This study adds to a recently growing number of studies evaluating non-employment effects of minimum wages. Using U.S. data between 1995 and 2017, a period with 380 state-level minimum wage increases, I estimate the effect on teenage birth rates (age 15-19). I find that a $1 increase in minimum wages is associated to a 2.8-3.4 percent decline in teenage birth rates, which corresponds to 1.1 to 1.3 fewer birth per 1,000 young women. My analysis shows that the effects are driven by states that also have state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) laws in place. Furthermore, I show that minimum wages are also associated with a 2.9 percent decline in birth rates among women aged 20 to 24, and with smaller but statistically significant declines in birth rates for women between the ages 25 to 39. These findings suggest that, rather than delaying childbearing age, minimum wage reduce overall birth rates.

ORCID iDs

Lenhart, Otto ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0949-4820;
  • Item type:Article
    ID code:74744
    Dates:
    Date
    Event
    31 January 2021
    Published
    25 November 2020
    Published Online
    20 November 2020
    Accepted
    Subjects:Social Sciences > Economic Theory
    Department:Strathclyde Business School > Economics
    Depositing user: Pure Administrator
    Date deposited:30 Nov 2020 17:13
    Last modified:12 Dec 2024 10:39
    URI:https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/id/eprint/74744
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