When Do Sex Ed Mandates Reduce Teen Births? Evidence on Inequality

Priyanshu Pokhrel () and Abigail Hornstein

No 2026-008, Wesleyan Economics Working Papers from Wesleyan University, Department of Economics

Abstract: In high-inequality states the opportunity cost of delayed fertility do not resonate with youth, undermining the effectiveness of sex education. Teen fertility remains high despite widespread mandates for school-based sex education, perhaps due to heterogeneous topic coverage and variation in classroom implementation. Social inequality affects teens’ need for school-based education and response to the content. Using staggered difference-indifferences estimation that is reversal-robust, we find that teen fertility rises in highinequality states when sex education is required in schools. We conclude that policy design and implementation are distinct dimensions of sex education, and they must be tailored to local social conditions.

Keywords: sex education; teen fertility; inequality; policy mandate; policy implementation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I12 I14 I18 I28 J13 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 45 pages
Date: 2026-06
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