Working Paper: NBER ID: w16444
Authors: Mariagiovanna Baccara; Allan Collard-Wexler; Leonardo Felli; Leeat Yariv
Abstract: This paper uses a new data set on child-adoption matching to estimate the preferences of potential adoptive parents over U.S.-born and unborn children relinquished for adoption. We identify significant preferences favoring girls and unborn children close to birth, and against African-American children put up for adoption. These attitudes vary in magnitudes across different adoptive parents - heterosexual, same-sex couples, and single women. We also consider the effects of excluding single women and same-sex couples from the adoption process. In our data, such policies would substantially reduce the overall number of adopted children and have a disproportionate effect on African-American ones.
Keywords: child adoption; matching preferences; gender; race
JEL Codes: C78; J13; J15; J16
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| PAPs exhibit a significant preference for girls over boys (J16) | PAPs express interest in a non-African American girl (J15) |
| PAPs express interest in a non-African American girl (J15) | reduction of approximately $19,473 in finalization costs (G32) |
| PAPs find interest in a 100% African American baby being significantly lower (J79) | substantial racial preference against African American children (J15) |
| substantial racial preference against African American children (J15) | increase of $38,421 in adoption finalization costs for African American children (J13) |
| desirability of unborn children increases as the birth date approaches (J13) | application probabilities rise (C11) |
| excluding same-sex couples and single women from the adoption process (J12) | 10% decrease in successful matches (C78) |
| excluding same-sex couples and single women from the adoption process (J12) | disproportionately impact African American children (I24) |