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The Effects of Statutory Rape Laws on Nonmarital Teenage Childbearing

Christopher Jepsen and Lisa Jepsen (lisa.jepsen@uni.edu)

Open Access publications from School of Economics, University College Dublin

Abstract: Many policy makers view the enforcement of statutory rape laws as a way to reduce teenage childbirths. This article considers whether unmarried teenage girls covered by a state statutory rape law are less likely to give birth than girls who are not covered by a statutory rape law. The presence of statutory rape laws is negatively correlated with nonmarital birthrates for white females but is not a significant predictor for black or Hispanic females. In contrast, the enforcement of statutory rape laws has a deterrent effect on teen childbearing for blacks and Hispanics but not for whites. (JEL J13,K14)

Keywords: Statutory rape--Law and legislation; Unmarried mothers; Teenage mothers (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 17 pages
Date: 2006-01
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Published in: Contemporary Economic Policy, 24(1) 2006-01

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http://hdl.handle.net/10197/4434 Open Access version, 2006 (application/pdf)

Related works:
Journal Article: THE EFFECTS OF STATUTORY RAPE LAWS ON NONMARITAL TEENAGE CHILDBEARING (2006) Downloads
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ucn:oapubs:10197/4434

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