An Investigation of a Possible Instrument for Parental Marriage: The Interaction of Local Job Losses and Pregnancy Timing

An Investigation of a Possible Instrument for Parental Marriage: The Interaction of Local Job Losses and Pregnancy Timing
This pilot study investigates the relationship between exogenous changes in economic circumstances and post-conception marriages. Using data from the North Carolina Detailed Birth Record Data and the North Carolina Marriage Database, the study matches individuals across the birth and marriage records, identifies which marriages were post-conception marriages and establishes job loss in the second half of pregnancy as an instrument in predicting parental marriage. This research also offers a substantial contribution to measuring the causal effect of parental marriage, laying a solid foundation for future work on the effects of parental marriage on later indicators of child well-being.

Academic Year
2013-2014
Duke Principal Investigator(s)
Primary Funding Agency
NICHD/DPRC Pilot