title: Should we get married? The effect of parents' marriage on out-of-wedlock children.
abstract: Using a representative sample of children all born to unwed parents drawn from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study and a potential outcome approach to account for self-selection into marriage, we investigate whether marriage after childbearing has a causal effect on early child development. Comparing children with similar background characteristics and parental mate-selection patterns who differ only in terms of whether their parents marry after childbirth, we find that marriage after childbirth significantly increases a child's early cognitive performance but there is no evidence that it affects child asthma risk or behavioral outcomes.
authors.affiliation: University of Miami.
authors.forename: Shirley H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Heiland
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior / Q000208:ethnology / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D002657:Child Development; D002669:Child Welfare / Q000191:economics / Q000208:ethnology / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005190:Family / Q000208:ethnology / Q000266:history / Q000523:psychology; D005192:Family Health / Q000208:ethnology / Q000266:history; D049673:History, 20th Century; D049674:History, 21st Century; D006801:Humans; D017533:Marital Status / Q000208:ethnology; D008393:Marriage / Q000208:ethnology / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology; D043762:Reproductive Behavior / Q000208:ethnology / Q000266:history / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology; D018454:Spouses / Q000193:education / Q000208:ethnology / Q000266:history / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000523:psychology