Abortion Legalization and Child Living Circumstances: Who is the "Marginal Child"?
利用美国各州堕胎合法化时间差异，发现合法化后出生的儿童在单亲家庭、贫困、福利依赖和婴儿死亡率等指标上显著改善，表明未出生的边际儿童本会面临更差的生活条件。
We examine the impact of increased abortion availability on the average living standards of children through a selection effect. Would the marginal child who was not born have grown up in different circumstances than the average child? We use variation in the timing of abortion legalization across states to answer this question. Cohorts born after legalized abortion experienced a significant reduction in a number of adverse outcomes. We find that the marginal child would have been 40–60 percent more likely to live in a single-parent family, to live in poverty, to receive welfare, and to die as an infant.