The Impact of AFDC on Illegitimate Birth Rates

This paper assesses the influence qf welfare payments and other socioeconomic fiactors on age-specific white and nonwhite illegitimate birth rates. For nonwhite younger women, the regression results suggest that larger welfare payments are associated with higher illegitimacy rates. The negative influence of income on illegitimacy together with the positive effect qf welfare payments would suggest that economic factors affect the probability qf legitimizing an out-qf-wedlock conception. Such an argument is more weakly supported by the results for white women.