Impacts of Changes in Marriage Law: Implications for Fertility and Educational Attainment of Women

35 Pages Posted: 19 May 2008 Last revised: 24 Aug 2009

See all articles by Prashant Bharadwaj

Prashant Bharadwaj

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Department of Economics

Date Written: June 2009

Abstract

In 1957 the state of Mississippi amended its marriage law. Changes included raising the minimum age for men and women, parental consent requirements, compulsory blood tests and proof of age. As a result, the number of marriages performed in Mississippi fell by more than 60 percent in 2 years. This paper examines the causal impact of the change in marriage law on marriage rates, fertility and educational attainment of women who were affected by the change in law. After the passage of the law, marriage rates declined sharply, and as a result, fertility declined and educational attainment increased. The results are much stronger for blacks than for whites. The black marriage rate among 19-23 year old women in the affected states declined by around 14% over that of the decline in the unaffected states. Black women in this age group also had 0.3 fewer children, and had a 9% higher probability of being enrolled in school. In addition, black women affected by the law change obtained nearly an extra year of schooling as compared to black women not affected by this law change. Among whites, the results are qualitatively similar, though weaker in magnitude and statistical significance. Hence, barriers to marriage can have significant implications for reducing fertility and increasing educational attainment of women.

Keywords: Marriage Law, Fertility

JEL Classification: J10, J12, J13, J71

Suggested Citation

Bharadwaj, Prashant, Impacts of Changes in Marriage Law: Implications for Fertility and Educational Attainment of Women (June 2009). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1091789 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1091789

Prashant Bharadwaj (Contact Author)

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Department of Economics ( email )

9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0508
United States

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