Abstract
Child support laws are common among most contemporary societies. However, despite being one of the only welfare initiatives benefiting children from conception through college, correlational research on the demographic effects of child support remains sparse. Using a variety of nonparametric statistical tests, this dissertation compares the child support policies of 91 nations against 30 social, economic, health and environmental variables from international public datasets. Methods include: Mann-Whitney, Mood’s median, Kruskal-Wallis, and Kendall’s tau b tests explore associations between child support policy structures and national demographic variables. Linear regression models are also generated in select cases. Results show nations with robust child support systems—equipped with a high number of enforcement mechanisms, a designated administrative agency, and/or a public child support assurance program—are found to be associated with lower unintended pregnancy and abortion rates, lower infant and maternal mortality rates, and better gender equality indicators. While nations with robust child support systems tend to produce more air, land, and water pollution per capita, these nations are also more likely to be reducing greenhouse gas emissions over time and are experiencing slower population growth than those with weaker child support laws. The analysis concludes that child support is closely linked with social welfare, gender equality, and environmental indicators. Child support may eventually be considered as an economic degrowth policy akin to extended producer responsibility in industrial manufacturing.
Presenters
Michael RosenthalStudent, Doctor of Public Administration, West Chester University, Pennsylvania, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Economic, Social, and Cultural Context
KEYWORDS
Child Support, Extended Producer Responsibility, Degrowth, Population, Pollution, Gender Equality
