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Explaining Child Support Trends: Economic, Demographic, and Policy Effects

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  • Anne C. Case
  • I-Fen Lin
  • Sara McLanahan
Abstract
Child Support is an important source of income for single mothers and their children. Given the growth in single mother families and given their high rates of poverty, child support payments are of growing interest to social scientists and demographers that care about inequality and child wellbeing. This paper uses data from the PSID to examine trends in child support payments between 1968 and 1997 and the determinants of trends. The findings suggest that a number of forces exerted downward pressure on child support payments during this period, with inflation and the shift to unilateral divorce being more important during the earlier years, and changes in marital status and declines in male earnings being more important during the later years. Three new child support laws offset these negative effects: numeric guidelines, universal withholding, and genetic testing.

Suggested Citation

  • Anne C. Case & I-Fen Lin & Sara McLanahan, 2002. "Explaining Child Support Trends: Economic, Demographic, and Policy Effects," JCPR Working Papers 267, Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research.
    • Handle: RePEc:wop:jopovw:267
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Peters, H Elizabeth, 1986. "Marriage and Divorce: Informational Constraints and Private Contracting," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 76(3), pages 437-454, June.
    2. Richard B. Freeman & Jane Waldfogel, 1998. "Dunning Delinquent Dads: The Effects of Child Support Enforcement on Child Support Receipt by Never Married Women," NBER Working Papers 6664, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    3. Thomas Hanson & Irwin Garfinkel & Sara Mclanahan & Cynthia Miller, 1996. "Trends in child support outcomes," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 33(4), pages 483-496, November.
    4. Richard B. Freeman & Jane Waldfogel, 2001. "Dunning Delinquent Dads: The Effects of Child Support Enforcement Policy on Child Support Receipt by Never Married Women," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 36(2), pages 207-225.
    5. I. Garfinkel & P. K. Robins, "undated". "The relationship between child support enforcement tools and child support outcomes," Institute for Research on Poverty Discussion Papers 1004-93, University of Wisconsin Institute for Research on Poverty.
    6. Edin, Kathryn, 1995. "Single mothers and child support: The possibilities and limits of child support policy," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(1-2), pages 203-230.
    7. Teresa Martin & Larry Bumpass, 1989. "Recent trends in marital disruption," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 26(1), pages 37-51, February.
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