This second volume of The Future of Children examines family formation and child well being, with a particular focus on marriage. The authors look at the history of marriage in America, the changes in family formation and the effect of these changes on economic and social outcomes for children, and the effect of marriage policy on specific subgroups such as low-income, minority, and homosexual families. The volume also provides a review of programs that have tried to increase and stabilize marriage as well as the impact of tax and transfer policies on marriage.
Contents Introduction and Overview Sara McLanahan, Ron Haskins, and Elisabeth Donahue
The Emergence of Marriage as a Public Issue Steve Nock, University of Virginia
American Marriage in the Early Twenty-First Century Andrew Cherlin, Johns Hopkins University
The Impact of Family Formation Change on Family Income Isabel Sawhill, Brookings Institution, and Adam Thomas, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University
The Impact of Family Formation Change on the Cognitive, Social and Emotional Wellbeing of the next Generation Paul Amato, Pennsylvania State University
Family Formation Choices of Low-Income and Minority Families Kathryn Edin, University of Pennsylvania and Joanna Reed, Northwestern University
Marriage Initiatives: What Might Work? Robin Dion, Mathematica Policy Research
Gay Marriage, Same-Sex Parenting, and America's Children Jonathan Rauch, National Journal and the Brookings Institution, and William Meezan, University of Michigan
Tax and Transfer Policy C. Eugene Steuerle, Urban Institute