Score contribution per author:
α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count
The economic theory of marriage suggests that more generous welfare benefits should serve to reduce the probability of marriage among mothers who have given birth out of wedlock. This relationship is explored using data on never-married mothers in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Only very limited evidence indicates that higher welfare payments lower the probability of marriage for nonblack never-married mothers. For black never-married mothers, the results suggest that higher benefits are associated with higher marriage rates.