Why Half of American Babies are Born to Unmarried Mothers
Dec 8, 2023
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In this discussion, economist Melissa Kearney dives into the concept of 'two-parent privilege', highlighting its vital role in children's success. She reveals the alarming trend of nearly half of American babies being born to unmarried mothers and how this shift affects economic inequality. Kearney examines the link between marriage rates and class, revealing staggering disparities, especially among those without a college education. She advocates for societal changes to bolster family structures and support the well-being of children across communities.
The decline in marriage rates is widening economic disparities, particularly for vulnerable populations without college degrees.
Boys growing up in single-parent households, especially without a father figure, face additional disadvantages and require targeted support.
Addressing the declining marriage rates and its economic impact necessitates a multifaceted approach, including improving economic opportunities and supporting two-parent households while providing resources for single parents.
Deep dives
The Declining Marriage Rates and its Economic Impact
The decline in marriage rates in America is driving many of the country's biggest economic problems today. The steep decline in marriage is widening the economic gap in opportunities and outcomes, rendering already vulnerable populations even more vulnerable. The increase in children living with unmarried parents is not due to divorce, but rather the trend of parents not getting married in the first place. This trend is particularly prominent for parents without college degrees, exacerbating class disparities. The economic advantages of a two-parent household, including increased income, more parental time and emotional support, lead to better outcomes for children, such as lower poverty rates, higher educational attainment, and improved overall well-being.
The Class Divide in Marriage and Family Structure
The declining marriage rates predominantly affect non-college educated adults, creating a growing gap in family structure between college-educated and non-college educated individuals. College-educated parents continue to raise their children in two-parent households, while parents without college degrees are more likely to be raising kids in single-parent households. The economic factors driving this trend include the loss of stable, well-paying jobs for non-college educated men and the corresponding decrease in their earning potential. This class divide in marriage and family structure widens socioeconomic disparities, affecting educational and economic outcomes for children.
The Impact on Boys and Gender Disparities
Boys growing up in single-parent households, particularly without a father present, are at a heightened disadvantage. Research shows that the gender gap, favoring girls in educational attainment and positive outcomes, is larger for children growing up in single-mother homes. Boys are more likely to experience behavioral issues, academic challenges, and negative outcomes. Parental inputs, including time, emotional support, and nurturing, are especially crucial for boys' development, and the absence of a father figure exacerbates these disadvantages. Addressing this gender disparity requires a focus on involving fathers and providing economic stability and support.
Moving Towards Solutions
Addressing the declining marriage rates and its economic impact requires a multifaceted approach. Efforts should be made to improve economic opportunities for non-college educated individuals, ensuring family-sustaining wages and job stability. Additionally, tackling factors such as intimate partner violence, mental health challenges, and criminal records can help create an environment conducive to stable and supportive relationships. Recognizing the value and importance of two-parent households while supporting single parents in achieving economic independence and providing community resources can contribute to better outcomes for children. Promoting equity means ensuring that marriage and its economic advantages are accessible to all, regardless of education or income level.
Strengthening Families: A Policy Priority
One of the main ideas discussed in the podcast is the importance of prioritizing the strengthening of families as a policy agenda. The speaker emphasizes the need for equal funding, research energy, and community innovation towards programs aimed at strengthening families, just as much as programs aimed at education and health outcomes. They highlight the limited evidence of success in current family-strengthening programs due to their shoestring budgets. The speaker suggests investing more in research and scaling up evidence-based community programs that work. Additionally, they emphasize the need to improve the economic position of vulnerable adults and parents, as financial stability is crucial for stable family environments.
Promoting a Positive Vision of Two-Parent Homes
Another key point discussed in the podcast is the importance of promoting a positive vision of two-parent households and fatherhood engagement for children. The speaker suggests that social conventions and messaging can play a significant role in shaping societal norms. While acknowledging the need to avoid stigmatizing single-parent households, the speaker emphasizes the importance of honestly acknowledging the benefits of two-parent homes and fatherhood involvement. They discuss responsible fatherhood campaigns and positive messaging that elevates parental involvement without stigmatizing alternative family structures. The speaker also highlights the unintended ways in which the tax and transfer system can discourage marriage and suggests addressing these unintentional disincentives to promote family stability.
One of the words that’s become utterly void of meaning in the last few years because of its overuse and misuse is privilege. White privilege, male privilege, able-bodied privilege, gender privilege, heterosexual privilege, even hot privilege. In these contexts, privilege is a stain, a kind of original sin meant to guilt the offending party into repenting for it at every twist and turn in their life. “Check your privilege” became a common refrain of the past decade. What all of this has done is confuse and undermine the idea of real privilege—real advantage that some situations produce over others—which, of course, really exists in this country.
But the ultimate privilege in America is not being born white or straight or male. The ultimate privilege, as Melissa Kearny argues, is being born into a household with two parents.
Melissa Kearney is an economist at the University of Maryland and her new book, The Two-Parent Privilege: How Americans Stopped Getting Married and Started Falling Behind,argues that declining marriage rates in America—and the corresponding rise in children being raised in single parent households—are driving many of the country’s biggest economic problems. In the 1950s, fewer than 5 percent of babies in this country were born to unmarried mothers. Today, nearly half of all babies in America are born to unmarried mothers. Most surprising—and worrisome—is how this trend is divided along class lines, with children whose mothers don’t have a college degree being more than twice as likely—as compared to children of college-educated mothers—to live in a single parent home. Kearny asserts this is widening the economic gap in opportunities and outcomes and rendering already vulnerable populations even more vulnerable.
Many of the arguments that Kearney makes in her book are what you might call commonsensical. And yet the book has received criticism, including from those in our culture who don’t dare make judgments on issues of home and family life, perhaps because that’s long been considered to be the domain of social conservatives. But as celebrated economist and our friend Tyler Cowen said of Melissa’s book, “this could be the most important economics and policy book of the year… it’s remarkable that such a book is so needed, but it is.”
The word privilege, as Melissa Kearney uses it, is not a dirty word. It is not a judgment that some people are intrinsically better or worse than others. It’s not a word meant to guilt or shame a group of people. Quite the opposite. It’s an aspirational word. It’s meant to inspire policies, programs, and changes in our social norms to even the playing field so that we can do better for all of our children. So that every child in America has the best possible chance for flourishing. That is what every child in this country deserves.
