In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviewed by:
  • Out of Wedlock: Causes and Consequences of Nonmarital Fertility
  • Allan M. Parnell
Out of Wedlock: Causes and Consequences of Nonmarital Fertility. Edited by Lawrence L. Wu and Barbara Wolf. Russell Sage Foundation, 2001. 412 pp. Cloth, $39.95.

Peter Laslett wrote, "Illegitimacy has been called a social problem for the last two centuries and a moral problem from time immemorial. A problem can in [End Page 1675] principle be solved, and in trying for a solution here moralists, administrators and social scientists have written a very great deal." The social problems of nonmarital childbearing are the effects on children and their parents and the community's fiscal role in the support of the single parents and their children. This volume, based on papers presented originally at a 1999 Institute for Poverty Research conference, adds greatly to social science literature on this most-dramatic shift in family formation of the later twentieth century.

First, the volume extends our understanding of the rapidly changing demography of nonmarital births, cohabitation, and marriage in the U.S. and western Europe through the mid-1990s. In particular, the authors examine the changing role of cohabitation, nonmarital childbearing at ages after the teen years, state-level variations in nonmarital childbearing, and trends in western Europe. The comparative patterns in the U.S. and Europe both suggest similar structural forces accounting for the decline of marriage and childbearing. However, there are notable differences, in particular the disproportionate level of nonmarital births among African Americans and the greater stability of cohabiting unions in Europe.

Second, the roles of community support and unwed fathers are examined. Conservatives argue that state and federal support through TANF and other programs is a key factor in the rise of nonmarital births. The federal government has instituted state-level initiatives to reduce the illegitimacy ratios. While there is an extensive literature on possible welfare effects, the two articles addressing this question make significant substantive and methodological contributions. Two other articles examine both the willingness and ability of fathers in social and economic support, including child support.

Third, four chapters examine the consequences of nonmarital childbearing on the health and development of mothers and children, the effects of being born out of wedlock on educational success and early childbearing, and the effects of nonmarital childbearing on formation and stability of the mothers' subsequent unions.

All the articles in this volume are of exceptional high quality, with innovative, state-of-the-art research designs (e.g., Korenman, Kaestner, and Joyce) and statistical analysis (e.g., Moffitt) of a range of survey data. They contribute greatly to the technical literature on the social and policy problems associated with nonmarital childbearing. However, as Lundberg points out in her summary of the implications of the research in volume for family economics, it is difficult for researchers to keep up with the rapidly changing processes of family formation. We are several years from having survey data on any shifts in nonmarital childbearing associated with the economic stagnation that followed the dotcom bubble, but they are likely. Further, the theoretical understanding of the decline of marriage, especially in relation to childbearing, [End Page 1676] remains underdeveloped. Economic analysis based on constrained-choice models is analytically useful, but limited in scope.

As Laslett noted, social scientists have "written a very great deal" on out-of-wedlock childbearing. This volume ranks among the most innovative and interesting of this large literature.

Allan M. Parnell
Cedar Grove Institute for Sustainable Communities
...

pdf

Share