A Higher Minimum Wage Could Reduce Teen Pregnancy

Raising the minimum wage is associated with a reduction in the rate of teen pregnancies, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Public Health.

The study, conducted by Lindsey Rose Bullinger, a doctoral student at Indiana University, found that an increase in the minimum wage of $1 reduced the adolescent pregnancy rates by 2 percent on average. This suggests that if the minimum wage were raised $1 across the country, we would have 5,000 fewer adolescent pregnancies each year.

The study, released this month, examined differences and changes in minimum wages and adolescent pregnancy rates between 2003 and 2014 at the state level.

So why would an economic policy have this kind of social impact?

"Higher wages can give teens a reason to keep working," Bullinger said in a statement. "Their advancement opportunities would improve, and they'd have good reason to delay childbearing or substitute work for leisure."

The statement also notes that children born to teen mothers tend to face more challenges in life. Some studies estimate the social cost of early pregnancy at around $9 billion annually due to health care and foster care expenses as well as the costs of parents leaving the workforce. The national minimum wage is $7.25 an hour.

It's common for studies to examine the economic impacts of the minimum wage, and particularly its effects on the number of jobs in a given region. But many policies that are typically considered in purely monetary terms have deep social and personal impacts.

"We know from previous research that an increase in the minimum wage is good for the health of the worker," Bullinger said. "They live longer, have lower body mass indexes and are less likely to abuse children, among other benefits. This study adds to those findings by showing that higher pay means fewer births to adolescent parents. This is especially true for non-Hispanic white and Hispanic adolescents because they are more likely to be affected by minimum wage increases."

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