Opportunity: the Most Effective Birth Control for Teens?
U.S. teen births highest in the developed world; Wellesley economist investigates relationship to income inequality
Studies find:
- Low-income teens living in areas of high inequality are more likely to have a baby rather than invest in their own economic progress
- Recent downward trend in U.S. teen birth rate largely unrelated to abstinence only, contraceptive access, or mandatory sex education
WELLESLEY, Mass., May 10, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- New research reveals the surprising economics behind the U.S. teen birth rate, still the highest in the developed world: high income inequality and low opportunity cost. American teens are two and a half times as likely to give birth as compared to teens in Canada, around four times as likely as teens in Germany or Norway, and almost ten times as likely as teens in Switzerland. The study, "Why is the U.S. Teen Birth Rate So High," will be published in the 100th issue of the Journal of Economic Perspectives, May 22, 2012.*
For the first time, Wellesley College economist Phillip B. Levine and University of Maryland economist Melissa Schettini