title: Diverging destinies: how children are faring under the second demographic transition.
abstract: In this article, I argue that the trends associated with the second demographic transition are following two trajectories and leading to greater disparities in children's resources. Whereas children who were born to the most-educated women are gaining resources, in terms of parents' time and money, those who were born to the least-educated women are losing resources. The forces behind these changes include feminism, new birth control technologies, changes in labor market opportunities, and welfare-state policies. I contend that Americans should be concerned about the growing disparity in parental resources and that the government can do more to close the gap between rich and poor children.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, 265 Wallace Hall, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA. mclanaha@princeton.edu
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McLanahan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare; D002675:Child, Preschool; D019049:Developed Countries / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D019513:Feminism / Q000266:history; D019456:Health Transition; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008423:Maternal Age; D009035:Mothers / Q000193:education / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016487:Parenting / Q000266:history; D011157:Population Dynamics; D012307:Risk Factors; D012922:Social Change; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014931:Women, Working / Q000706:statistics & numerical data