Indiana University research shows increasing minimum wage would reduce teen pregnancies
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A $1 increase in the minimum wage would likely reduce the U.S. adolescent birth rate by about 2 percent, according to new Indiana University research.
That would mean about 5,000 fewer births annually, and the number could go higher if the minimum wage increase climbed over $1, according to Lindsey Rose Bullinger, the study author and an associate instructor and doctoral student at the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
“Higher wages can give teens a reason to keep working,” Bullinger said. “Their advancement opportunities would improve, and they’d have good reason to delay childbearing or substitute work for leisure.”
Many studies have looked at the impact of a minimum wage hike on the economy, but few have analyzed the public health implications. It is a critical issue because the U.S. has the highest adolescent birth rate among developed countries.
Read more: http://news.indiana.edu/releases/iu/2017/03/minimum-wage-and-teen-births.shtml