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The rising share of nonmarital births: Fertility choice or marriage behavior?

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Demography

Abstract

Much of the sharp rise in the share of nonmarital births in the United States has been attributed to changes in the fertility choices of unmarried and married women—in response, it is often argued, to public policy. In contrast, we develop and test a model that attributes the rise to changes in marriage behavior, with no necessary changes in fertility. A variety of empirical tests strongly support this conclusion and invites focused attention to issues related to marriage behavior as well as to the interactions between marriage and fertility.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Economics, University of Oregon, 97403-1285, Eugene, OR

    Jo Anna Gray

  2. Department of Planning, Public Policy, and Management, University of Oregon, Portland

    Jean Stockard

  3. Department of Economics, University of Oregon, Portland

    Joe Stone

Authors
  1. Jo Anna Gray
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  2. Jean Stockard
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  3. Joe Stone
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Additional information

The authors thank Herbert Smith, Larry Singell, Robert O’Brien, Stephen Haynes, Dan Hamermesh, and anonymous referees for valuable comments on earlier drafts of this article.

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Gray, J.A., Stockard, J. & Stone, J. The rising share of nonmarital births: Fertility choice or marriage behavior?. Demography 43, 241–253 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1353/dem.2006.0012

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1353/dem.2006.0012

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