Unwed Fathers Ability to Pay Child Support: Evidence from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing S

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Unwed Fathers Ability to Pay Child
SupportEvidence from the Fragile Families and
Child Wellbeing Study

• Marilyn Sinkewicz
• Columbia University
• Irwin Garfinkel
• Columbia University
• July 1, 2004

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Funders
The Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study is
funded through grants from the following
government agencies 5R01-HD-35301 from the
National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development, 5P30-HD-32030 from the
National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development through the Office of
Population Research, Princeton University, U. S.
Department of Health and Human Services
(ACF and ASPE) Funding is also provided by the
following foundations California HealthCare
Foundation, The Center for Research on Religion
and Urban Civil Society at the University of
Pennsylvania, Commonwealth Fund, Ford Foundation,
Foundation for Child Development, Fund for New
Jersey, William T. Grant Foundation, Healthcare
Foundation of New Jersey, William and Flora
Hewlett Foundation, Hogg Foundation, Christian A.
Johnson Endeavor Foundation, Kronkosky Charitable
Foundation, Leon Lowenstein Foundation, John D.
and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, A.L.
Mailman Family Foundation, Charles Stewart
Mott Foundation, National Science Foundation,
David and Lucile Packard Foundation, Public
Policy Institute of California, Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation, St. David's Hospital
Foundation, St. Vincent Hospital and Health
Services.
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New estimates of nonresident unwed fathers
capacity to pay child support

• Motivation
• Child support enforcement affects large
  proportion of population
• Enforcement has been strengthened, especially for
  poor and unwed fathers
• Data for estimating unwed fathers income has
  been very poor
• Fragile Families data addresses previous
  weaknesses

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Weaknesses of Previous Data

• Missing Dads40 in NSFH, SIPP, lower in
  longitudinal, but higher for unweds
• Requires Starting with Moms Kids and Assuming
  Assortative Mating,
• One Dad for Each Mom No other obligations
• Unwed dads like all unwed men

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Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study

• Sample
• mother nonmarital _at_ birth.... 3,710
• mother nonresident _at_ 1 year.. 1,805
• not interviewed at 1 yr nonresident _at_ birth.
  2,024
• child not adopted.. 2,011
• child not deceased. 1,993
• father eligible
• (not deceased, negative DNA, unknown, not told,
  denies paternity)... 1,797
• father reports earnings..... 853

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Estimate fathers ability to pay

• Income (personal earnings)
• Multiple Partner Fertility
• Number of children with current mother and prior
  mothers

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MISSING DATA PROBLEM

• EVER INCARCERATED
• ESTIMATION SAMPLE FULL SAMPLE COEFFICIENT
• YES 35 38 -2548
• NO 56 44
• MISSING 9 18 - 601
• CURRENTLY INCARCERATED
• ESTIMATION SAMPLE FULL SAMPLE COEFFICIENT
• YES 5 8 -5885
• NO 84 67
• MISSING 11 25 847

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Wisconsin Child Support Guidelines

• Percentage of Annual Earnings
• 1 child 17
• 2 children 25
• 3 children 29
• 4 children 31
• 5 children 34

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Annual Child Support Payment per Nonresident
Father
Earnings
Assortative Mating
Actual
Ineligible
Prev Unobs
Prior, then Current
Current plus prior
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Summary

• Assortative mating assumption ok
• Identifying ineligible fathers reduces ability to
  pay by 11
• Previously unmeasured capabilities of dads
  reduces ability to pay by only 3
• Multiple partner fertility reduces ability to pay
  by 14 to 29
• All together25 to 38 lower