Legal Issues Relating to Teen Fertility

National Bureau Of Economic Research, Cambridge MA

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Abstract

? DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Parental Involvement (PI) laws are widespread and affect a large fraction of the teen, female population. We will conduct arguably the most comprehensive and credible assessment of the effect of PI laws on teen fertility. We will use unique data and novel methods to study whether PI laws affect teen fertility. Specifically, we will obtain estimates of the effect of PI laws on teen fertility using two approaches: a pre- and post-test with comparison group approach for states that adopted a PI law during the 1989 to 2009 period, and a regression discontinuity research design for states with and without PI laws. Our analysis will span 20 years and cover a period when PI laws were relatively rare to the current period when PI laws are ubiquitous. We will be able to study whether the effect of PI laws differs by the surrounding (geographically) regulatory environment, whether the effect differs by the type of law, and whether the effect differs by the strictness of the law.