Abstract The 1980 Census of the United States is used, first, to illustrate the serious lag in
employment performance of young black men relative to young white men and, second, to
test for the importance of demandside causes of this lag. In testing for the demand-side
causes, we rely on two types of data from the Census. Aggregate data for 94 standard
metropolitan statistical areas (SMSAs) contain data on the annual hours worked in 1979 of
black and white young men, along with other labor market variables that reflect demand and …

Approximately 1.4 million single mothers have substantial health problems. Single mothers
who have a disabled child are at an additional disadvantage, because these children may
require increased time from an adult and are likely to have considerable medical care needs
and expenditures. We explore the impact of health on single-mother families as follows.
First, we examine the health status of single mothers compared to other women using the
March 1989 Current Population Survey. We next estimate the earnings capacity of single …

High relative unemployment has been a persistent aspect of the labor market experience of
blacks since the mid-1950s. This paper addresses two questions by way of attempting to
understand racial differences in unemployment. First, what accounts for the continuing high
level of the blacklwhite unemployment ratio? Second, how can this fact be reconciled with
evidence of the narrowing of blacklwhite differentials in educational attainment, occupational
position, and earnings? Our results indicate that racial differences in occupational …

This study compares the economic status of single-mother families relative to each other and
to two-parent families in eight countries: Australia, Canada, France, West Germany, Norway,
Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Using data sets from the Luxembourg
Income Study, the investigators test four hypotheses concerning single-mother families:(1)
that their relative economic status in the United States is significantly below that in the other
seven countries;(2) that differences in their demographic characteristics account for some …

In an attempt to reduce poverty among female-headed families, major policy changes have
recently occurred that increase the amount of support noncustodial parents provide to their
children. This paper summarizes the effects of some of these changes, and then uses
microsimulation analysis to estimate the likely effects of a variation on the Child Support
Assurance System (CSAS) proposed by Garfinkel and Melli as an alternative to the child
support system currently used. Based on the philosophy that all parents are obligated to …

The number of families headed by women has grown over the past several decades to the
point where 42 percent of white children and 84 percent of black children born in the late
1970s are expected to spend some time with a single mother before they reach age 18.
Arguments over the causes of this growth--whether because of increases in welfare benefits,
changes in women's employment, or changes in men's employment--are presented. Single-
mother families are found to face a higher risk of poverty than other demographic groups …

This study examines the influence of self-esteem, locus of control, and attitudes toward
women's family roles and school on the probability of teenage premarital pregnancy and,
given a pregnancy, whether it is resolved by abortion, having the birth premaritally, or
marrying before the birth. The data are drawn from the National Longitudinal Survey of
Youth and analyzed using the nested logit method. The evidence suggests that for both
whites and blacks the four attitude variables are associated with premarital pregnancy and …

In recent years, child care has become an important public policy issue, owing primarily to
the significant increase in the labor force participation of women with young children.
Consequently, a number of bills containing provisions to subsidize child care have been
introduced into Congress. As a first step in considering possible behavioral responses to
proposed child care subsidies, this paper presents estimates of a structural model in which a
mother simultaneously chooses her labor status, whether or not to purchase market child …

This paper analyzes an understudied dimension of inner-city education--the diverse nature
of young women's personal experiences and levels of success in school and the kinds of
supportive resources they receive. The data are from qualitative interviews with 53 black
teen mothers and their nonparent peers who reside in Detroit or Milwaukee. Findings
suggest that, in general, the nonparents have more success in school; however, some teen
mothers were relatively successful in remaining attached to schooling. The more successful …