The Dynamics of Welfare Participation among Women Who Experienced Teenage Motherhood in Australia

Melbourne Institute Working Paper No. 22/08

Date: November 2008

Author(s):

Sung-Hee Jeon
Guyonne Kalb
Ha Vu

Abstract

This study examines whether the factors that determine the welfare participation of women who experienced teenage motherhood differ from the factors that determine the welfare participation of women who had their first child at an older age. We examine these factors across the lifetimes of both groups of women. A dynamic random effects probit model is applied to investigate the extent of state dependence in welfare participation while allowing for observed and unobserved individual heterogeneity. We find evidence of state dependence for all women, but it is stronger for women who experienced teenage childbearing than for women who had a child at an older age. In addition, poor health is an important factor in increasing the probability of the welfare participation of women who experienced teenage childbearing.

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