Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP8505
Authors: Karin Monstad; Carol Propper; Kjell G. Salvanes
Abstract: There is relatively little research on peer effects in teenage motherhood despite the fact that peer effects, and in particular social interaction within the family, is likely to be important. We estimate the impact of an elder sister?s teenage fertility on the teenage childbearing of their younger sister. To identify the peer effect we utilize an educational reform that impacted on the elder sister?s teenage fertility. Our main result is that within families, teen births tend to be contagious and the effect is larger where siblings are close in age and for women from low resource households.
Keywords: Education; Spillover Effects; Teenage Pregnancy
JEL Codes: I21; J13; J24
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Elder sister's teenage motherhood (J13) | Younger sister's likelihood of becoming a teen mother (J13) |
| Educational reform in Norway (I28) | Elder sister's teenage motherhood (J13) |
| Elder sister's teenage motherhood (J13) | Younger sister's teenage motherhood (J13) |
| Increased education (I29) | Individual teenage motherhood (J13) |
| Elder sister's teenage motherhood (J13) | Younger sister's teenage motherhood in low-resource households (J13) |