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RACIAL DIFFERENCES IN THE EFFECT OF MARRIAGEABLE MALES ON FEMALE FAMILY HEADSHIP

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 August 2018

Terry-Ann Craigie ,
Samuel L. Myers JR.  and
William A. Darity JR.
Terry-Ann Craigie*
Affiliation:
Connecticut College
Samuel L. Myers JR.
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
William A. Darity JR.
Affiliation:
Duke University
*
Address correspondence to: Terry-Ann Craigie, Department of Economics, Connecticut College, 270 Mohegan Avenue, New London, CT 06320, USA; e-mail: [email protected].
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Abstract:

Female family headship has strong implications for endemic poverty in the United States. Consequently, it is imperative to explore the chief factors that contribute to this problem. Departing from prior literature that places significant weight on welfare-incentive effects, our study highlights the role of male marriageability in explaining the prevalence of never-married female family headship for blacks and whites. Specifically, we examine racial differences in the effect of male marriageability on never-married female headship from 1980 to 2010. By exploiting data from IPUMS-USA (N = 4,958,722) and exogenous variation from state-level sentencing reforms, the study finds that the decline in the relative supply of marriageable males significantly increases the incidence of never-married female family headship for blacks but not for whites.

Keywords

Marriageable MalesFemale Family HeadshipSex RatioRaceInequalityJ11J12J15
Type
Research Papers
Information
Journal of Demographic Economics , Volume 84 , Issue 3 , September 2018 , pp. 231 - 256
Copyright
Copyright © Université catholique de Louvain 2018 

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