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Research ArticleArticles

Grandparents, Moms, or Dads? Why Children of Teen Mothers Do Worse in Life

View ORCID ProfileAnna Aizer, View ORCID ProfilePaul Devereux and View ORCID ProfileKjell Salvanes
Journal of Human Resources, November 2022, 57 (6) 2012-2047; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3368/jhr.58.2.1019-10524R2
Anna Aizer
Anna Aizer is Professor of Economics at Brown University and an affiliate of NBER.
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Paul Devereux
Paul J. Devereux is Professor of Economics at the School of Economics and Geary Institute, University College Dublin and an affiliate of NHH, CEPR, and IZA.
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Kjell Salvanes
Kjell G. Salvanes is Professor of Economics at the Norwegian School of Economics and an affiliate of CEPR, HCEO, and IZA.
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ABSTRACT

We explore whether and why children born to teen mothers have worse outcomes later in life. Using Norwegian register data, we compare outcomes of children of sisters who have first births at different ages. We find that the causal effect of being a child of a teen mother is much smaller than that implied by the cross-sectional differences, but that there are probably still significant long-term, adverse consequences, especially for children born to the youngest teen mothers. We have information on fathers and find that negative selection of fathers of children born to teen mothers plays an important role in producing inferior child outcomes. These effects are particularly large for mothers from higher socioeconomic groups.

JEL Classification:
  • J12
  • J13
  • J24
  • Received October 2019.
  • Accepted August 2020.
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Journal of Human Resources: 57 (6)
Journal of Human Resources
Vol. 57, Issue 6
1 Nov 2022
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Grandparents, Moms, or Dads? Why Children of Teen Mothers Do Worse in Life
Anna Aizer, Paul Devereux, Kjell Salvanes
Journal of Human Resources Nov 2022, 57 (6) 2012-2047; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.58.2.1019-10524R2

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Grandparents, Moms, or Dads? Why Children of Teen Mothers Do Worse in Life
Anna Aizer, Paul Devereux, Kjell Salvanes
Journal of Human Resources Nov 2022, 57 (6) 2012-2047; DOI: 10.3368/jhr.58.2.1019-10524R2
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Keywords

  • J12
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  • J24
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