Learning from Teen Childbearing Experiences of Close Friends: Evidence using Miscarriages as a Natural Experiment

Olga Yakusheva; Jason M. Fletcher

doi:10.1162/rest_a_00423

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Learning from Teen Childbearing Experiences of Close Friends: Evidence using Miscarriages as a Natural Experiment

Olga Yakusheva¹; Jason M. Fletcher²

¹ University of Michigan–Ann Arbor · ² University of Wisconsin–Madison

The Review of Economics and Statistics 2015

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.

DOI: 10.1162/rest_a_00423
Volume: 97 (1)
Pages: 29-43
Language: en
Export: BibTeX
Sources: openalex crossref