Does Income Inequality Cause High Teen Pregnancy Rates?

the number of American teenagers having children has reached an all-time low. But teen pregnancy in the United States remains far more common According to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Jeen Moms = AMERICA than in other developed nations. S WEALTH INEQUALITY TO BLAME? HOW DO TEEN BIRTH RATES IN THE UNITE D STATE COMPARE WITH OTHER NATIONS? Experts suggest a wide range of possible explanations for differences in teen birth rates-including religion and sex education curricula-but several recent studies have found a link between teen pregnancy and a nation's wealth inequality. The United States has the second-highest wealth gap among the nations surveyed. U.S. TEEN BIRTH RATES ARE DECLINING... HOW TO READ THE GINI COEFFICIENT Birth rates among U.S. teenage girls age 15 to 19 have fallen to a record low of 34.3 births per 1,000 girls. In its April 2012 press release, the CDC attributed the decline to the impact of strong pregnancy prevention messages and increased use of contraception. 0 = Perfect Income Equality | 24.8 DENMARK (All citizens have equal income) 25 100 = Perfect Income Inequality (All income goes to the wealthiest individual) BIRTHS PER 1,000 GIRLS AGE 15-19 NORWAY | 25.9 90.3 89.1 SWEDEN 25.9 LOWEST RATE 100 .... 81.6 FINLAND 70.5 68.3 59.9 26.1 56 AUSTRIA 47.7 28.8 55.6 53 51 34.3 40.5 LUXEMBOURG | 29,3 96.3 FRANCE 54.1 54.1 | 29.3 60 .... IRELAND RATE 29.4 NETHERLANDS 29.5 GERMANY 40 .... 30.3 SWITZERLAND 30.7 2010 GREECE 2005 20 .... 2000 31.7 1995 1990 1985 SPAIN 1980 32.4 1975 1970 1965 CANADA 1960 0... 1955 32.9 1950 1945 JAPAN 1940 33.6 AUSTRALIA 33.7 Compared to other developed countries*, many more teens in the U.S. are having children. In fact, the teen birth rate in the U.S. is more than eight times higher than that of Switzerland. ITALY ARE STILL HIGHER THAN IN OTHER INDU STRIALIZED NATIONS 34.5 ... BUT UNITED KINGDOM 35:3 UNITED KINGDOM PORTUGAL 37.8. UNITED STATES 42.2 100 80 RUSSIA 60 40 BIRTHS PER 1,000 GIRLS AGE 15-19 20 AUSTRALIA PORTUGAL IRELAND 35 CANADA 30 SPAIN AUSTRIA GERMANY FRANCE NORWAY LUXEMBOURG "OUR ESTIMATES SUGGEST THAT INCOME INEQUALITY CAN EXPLAIN A 25 FINLAND ITALY SIZABLE SHARE OF THE GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION OBSERVED IN THE DENMARK SWEDEN SWITZERLAND JAPAN TEEN CHILDBEARING RATE, ON THE ORDER OF 10 TO 50 PERCENT..." 15 -MELISSA S. KEARNEY AND PHILLIP B. LEVINE, AUTHORS OF "WHY IS THE TEEN ...... 10 BIRTH RATE IN THE UNITED STATES SO HIGH AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?" 25 30.2 34.3 16.5 14.2 15.3 16.3 9.5 9.8 10.2 10.4 11.6 12.2 7.1 8.5 5.5 5.9 6.8 A COLLABORATION BETWEEN GOOD AND COLUMN FIVE 5.3 *Major developed countries were chosen by the National Bureau of Economic Research. 4.1 5.1 SOURCES: CDC.COM | STATS.OECD.ORG | UNSTATS.UN.ORG | WASHINGTONPOST.COM | SALON.COM | NATIONAL CENTER FOR HEALTH STATISTICS | THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF ECONOMIC RESEARCH | KEARNEY, S. MELISSA AND PHILLIP B. LEVINE. "WHY IS THE TEEN BIRIH RATE IN THE UNITED STATES SO HIGH AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?" 2012. UNITED STATES RUSSIA GREECE NETHERLANDS