Case Studies of Surges in Nonmarital Births

SUMMARY

This paper reviews explanations which attribute the recent dramatic surge in nonmarital births in the U.S. either to economic-labor force dislocations or to more tolerant social values. The contemporary debate is shown to coincide with the two theoretical positions taken by historical demographers trying to account for the very rapid upturn in nonmarital births that occurred with the onset of the industrial revolution. While reflecting on the two opposing positions, this study surveys economic and value changes in 11 different places that experienced large surges in out-of-wedlock births between 1590 and 1985. In every case inspected, striking increases in nonmarital births were associated with marked economic downturns and related labor force changes. However, conspicuously greater permissiveness, or weaker moral restraints, also accompanied most of the surges.

Key Words:

• Nonmarital births
• economic dislocation
• value change