title: Labor market segmentation and relative black/white teenage birth rates.
abstract: "Teenage mothers typically have lower educational attainment than other women.  Most observers have argued that this is a major reason for their greater risk of poverty.  This article takes the opposite view: that circumstances associated with poverty contribute to a greater likelihood of teenage childbearing.  In particular, poor educational quality and the chances of secondary sector employment are more common for black women, regardless of their age at first birth.  Hence the payoffs to education may be quite low for these women, which may be the reason for early motherhood.  This argument is presented in terms of segmented labor market theory.  Data to support it is presented from the [U.S.] National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.  Other common explanations of teenage motherhood are critiqued."
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mccrate
mesh_terms: D001741:Black or African American; D000569:Americas; D003469:Culture; D003710:Demography; D019049:Developed Countries; D004467:Economics; D004522:Educational Status; D004651:Employment; D005006:Ethnicity; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005195:Family Relations; D005298:Fertility; D009035:Mothers; D009656:North America; D010290:Parents; D011153:Population; D011154:Population Characteristics; D011157:Population Dynamics; D011203:Poverty; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence; D011287:Prejudice; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012923:Social Class; D012940:Social Problems; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014481:United States; D044465:White People
keywords: Adolescent Pregnancy; Americas; Blacks; Critique; Cultural Background; Demographic Factors; Developed Countries; Economic Factors; Educational Status; Employment; Ethnic Groups; Family And Household; Family Characteristics; Family Relationships; Fertility; Macroeconomic Factors; Mothers; North America; Northern America; Parents; Population; Population Characteristics; Population Dynamics; Poverty; Reproductive Behavior; Social Discrimination; Social Problems; Socioeconomic Factors; Socioeconomic Status; United States; Whites