Family Structure and Economic Success Across the Life Course. Issue 8 (17th November 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lerman, Robert I.; Price, Joseph; Wilcox, W. Bradford
• Is Part Of: Marriage & family review. Volume 53:Issue 8(2017)
• Page Start: 744
• Page End: 758
• Publication Date: 2017-11-17
• Subjects: family income -- family structure -- labor force -- life course -- marriage; Family -- United States -- Periodicals; Marriage -- United States -- Periodicals; 306.8
• DOI: 10.1080/01494929.2017.1316810
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0149-4929

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This paper examines the role that family structure plays in long-run economic outcomes across the life course. Using nearly 30 years of data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979, we find that youths who grow up with both biological parents earn more income, work more hours each week and are more likely to be married themselves as adults, compared to children raised in single-parent families. Many of these differences continue to be statistically significant even after we control for family income experienced as an adolescent. In addition, the implied size of the income transfer that children growing up with a single parent to equalize lifetime economic outcomes would need—about $42, 000—is markedly larger than the income transfers now available to families in USA.