Learning from teen childbearing experiences of close friends: Evidence using miscarriages as a natural experiment

• Autores: Olga Yakusheva, Jason Fletcher
• Localización: The Review of economics and statistics, ISSN 0034-6535, Vol. 97, Nº 1, 2015, págs. 29-43
• Idioma: inglés
• DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_00423
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• Resumen

  • We examine peer effects in teen childbearing among close friends, using miscarriages as a natural experiment. We use 775 women from the core sample of Add Health who had a friend with a teen pregnancy. We find a sizable negative treatment effect: a close friend's teen birth is associated with a 6 percentage point reduction in the likelihood of own teen pregnancy and childbearing. There is evidence that this effect operates through a learning mechanism by changing beliefs regarding early childbearing. Effects of teen pregnancy prevention policies may be partially offset by reductions in the opportunities for social learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]