This paper will focus on the child care decisions of women who differ by their level of skill, as measured by their level of education, and the role that costs play in determining their labor force participation. Our analysis will include four separate components. First, we will review the...

This paper evaluates the evidence regarding teens' sexual activity and birth control use with an emphasis on the contribution of economic analysis. Researchers in other disciplines often view teen sexual activity as spontaneous and irrational, so that teen pregnancies are often considered...

The difficulties experienced by young women who give birth as teenagers have been well-documented and impose a significant cost to these women and to society (Maynard, 1997). For instance, teen mothers are far less likely to work compared to other women who delay child-bearing, leading to lower...

This paper will address the burden imposed on states by cyclically-induced increases in the demand for welfare. The first part will estimate how much states likely will be forced to spend on additional welfare payments in the event of an economic downturn. I use data from 1976-1996 on welfare...

We examine the extent to which children are exposed to the welfare system through their mother's receipt of benefits and its impact on several developmental outcomes. Using data from the matched mother-child file from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), we find that children's...