학술논문

ABORTION AND CRIME: UNWANTED CHILDREN AND OUT-OF-WEDLOCK BIRTHS.
Document Type
Article
Source
Economic Inquiry. Apr2007, Vol. 45 Issue 2, p304-324. 21p. 4 Charts, 4 Graphs.
Subject
*ABORTION laws
*CRIME
*UNWANTED pregnancy
*BIRTHS to unmarried women
*PREMARITAL sex
*SEXUAL intercourse
*HUMAN capital
ROE v. Wade
Language
ISSN
0095-2583
Abstract
Legalizing abortion can either increase or decrease investments in children's human capital. This article finds that abortion increases the number of out-of-wedlock births. Using data that more directly links the criminal with age when the crime was committed, not age when arrested, and fixing the assumption in previous research that no abortions took place prior to the Roe v. Wade decision in the 45 states affected by that decision, we find consistent significant evidence that legalizing abortions increased murders by over 7%. Linear estimates indicate that legalization increased total annual victimization costs by at least $3.2 billion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]