RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Is the Marginal Child More Likely to be Murdered?
JF Journal of Human Resources
JO J Hum Resour
FD University of Wisconsin Press
SP 611
OP 630
DO 10.3368/jhr.XLI.3.611
VO XLI
IS 3
A1 David E. Kalist
A1 Noelle A. Molinari
YR 2006
UL http://jhr.uwpress.org/content/XLI/3/611.abstract
AB We examine whether abortion removes from the population those infants most at risk of homicide. As part of our identification strategy, we find that abortion reduces the number of unwanted births, estimating that 1 percent increase in the abortion ratio reduces unwanted births by approximately 0.35 percent. Using cross-sectional time-series data for U.S. states between 1970 and 1998, we find that an increase in the abortion ratio (a proxy for unwanted births) reduces the expected number of infant homicides, especially among black infants. Overall, the elasticity of infant homicides with respect to unwanted births is approximately 0.089.